


Extra-Curricular

by Stormbadger



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teachers, F/F, Slice of Life, Trans Character, amputee character, delayed shipping, some Peridot/Lapis Lazuli
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-04-18 05:47:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4694330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormbadger/pseuds/Stormbadger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jasper is a teacher at Beach City High School, teaching Phys Ed. and History.  When Peridot, her new co-worker and housemate enter her life, things start to change, for better and for worse.</p><p>(Steven Universe High School Teacher AU starring Jasper and Peridot (and sometimes Lapis).  Will probably have smut later in the story.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Start

**Author's Note:**

> I should just like to mention - as an Australian I only have a minimal idea on how American high school works. The information I'm running with is all from various google searches.
> 
> Other than that, it's pretty much slice-of-life-humour-drama-angsty-lovey-dovey-probably-smutty-human-AU-Jaspidot, which I hope you enjoy :3

_Five days before Term 1._

Jasper snorted awake as the doorbell made a pleasant, yet unwelcome, noise. Blinking her fatigue away, she looked down at herself.

She was hardly dressed, simply in a singlet and a pair of panties, and with a careful touch she noticed her hair was a mess. She didn't smell that great either - not awful, but hardly the smell of a bed of roses. Another press of the doorbell snapped her out of her momentary reverie.

She shouted a drowsy 'just a minute' and pulled herself up with a grunt, snatching a leather jacket and some pants to cover herself, then stumbled towards the door, opening it up.

Nobody was there. Well, until she looked down and saw an asian girl standing there. She was much shorter than Jasper, and was dressed in something that was much more formal than her own getup, with leather gloves covering her hands and a pair of thick glasses over her eyes. In Jasper's tired mind, she almost looked like some sort of official person, like a secret agent or a hitwoman or... something. She shouldn't fall asleep with a spy movie on the television.

"Hello, is this the home of Jasper Brooks?" the woman said in a nasally (but kind of cute) voice, pushing the frames of her glasses up her face with a hand.

"That's me," Jasper yawned, then sighed as her brain comprehended the rest of the woman's sentence. "I mean, this is my home-... ah, whatever. Who're you?"

The asian woman paused for a second, an eyebrow raising slightly before she spoke again. "I'm Peridot Tsukiko."

Jasper blinked.

"Your new housemate?"

"Oh!" Jasper slapped her forehead. Of course, she was supposed to meet this girl today, as they organised by phone. She held her hand out for a handshake, to which Peridot returned. "Sorry, still waking up."

"You were asleep at two in the evening?" Peridot crossed her arms.

"It was a nap," Jasper lied.

"Right, of course. May I come in?"

Jasper shrugged and stepped aside. "Come right in, make yourself comfortable. I mean, this is your place too."

"Thank you," Peridot replied and walked in, looking around. Jasper rolled her eyes when the smaller girl audibly sniffed, then frowned at her quiet complaint. "So, what do you do for a living, Jasper? I forgot to ask."

Jasper chuckled, grabbing something from the couch and tossing it to a bin in the corner (and missing, much to her chagrin). "Funny, I was gonna ask the same thing. I'm a teacher at Beach City High School."

Peridot glanced back at her, seemingly incredulous. "Teaching what?"

"P.E. and history." Jasper made sure her missed shot wasn't going to sit outside of the bin forever. "What about you?"

"Information Technology and Advanced Mathematics."

Jasper turned to face the smaller woman again, confused. "Come again?"

Peridot walked into to the kitchen, the large woman walking behind her. "I'm a teacher too. Starting next week, I'll be at Beach City High School too."

"That's... real freaky," Jasper muttered to herself, then after realising that she was starving, stopped by the fridge to grab a tub of yoghurt.

"It's just a simple coincidence, nothing more." Peridot said, walking out of the kitchen, pointing to one of the doors. "Is this my room?"

"Yep." Jasper said idly without even looking - too busy trying to get her big meaty mitts to grab a damn spoon. "It shouldn't smell too bad, I made sure to at least clean it and open the window."

Peridot said nothing in reply, but Jasper could hear her trotting around the place, entering each room except, thankfully, her own room. She walked back into view, then sighed and shrugged off her jacket, laying it down on a battered armchair. "My belongings will be arriving in a day or two, including my bed. Do you mind if I sleep on the sofa in the meantime?"

Jasper shrugged, chuckling. "S'long as you don't mind the smell of ass, sure."

Peridot rolled her eyes, but Jasper saw her take a careful glance at the sofa, and her soft laughter became a little louder. "Relax, it's fine. I don't use the sofa anyway."

"That explains the condition of the armchair," Peridot murmured.

* * *

_1 and a half hours until Term 1_

"Shit shit fuck shit _shit_!"

Jasper rushed along in the house in a wild panic, just starting to throw on a clean shirt while nearly tripping over some of the unpacked boxes in the living room that she regretted putting there later. Peridot was simply at the kitchen with a can of half-drunk energy drink, watching the scene unfold.

"What's the problem?" she asked.

"I'm gonna be late if I don't get out, like, five minutes ago!" Jasper shouted back, then swore loudly as she stumbled into the couch. "Why did we put that box there...?"

"I have a car, I can give you a lift," Peridot said after a casual sip from her can.

Jasper sighed, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. "I usually take public transport."

"Well since we work at the same place, I can take us both there."

"It's more a personal timing thing." Jasper said as she hauled the offending box up from the floor onto the couch. "I like getting up early and making it to work with time to spare. Not to mention I don't wanna get lazy."

"Well you can make it there early," Peridot started, chugging the rest of the drink down, "if we take my car."

Jasper groaned, lifting another box that had previously staggered her out of the way. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

Peridot crushed the can in her hand then dropped it into the bin next to her. "I can take no for an answer, I'm just suggesting something much more efficient."

"Sorry Peri, I'll pass." Slipping on her work jacket and neatening it up enough to be presentable, and while tying her hair back in a ponytail, she opened the door. "Gotta run, see you in a bit."

"Call me Peri-" _Slam!_ "...dot."

* * *

"You have gotta be shitting me."

Peridot wound the window down, leaning her hand out and beckoning Jasper. "The bus isn't going to be there for another fifteen minutes, get in."

"What makes you figure that?"

"I checked the bus route time tables," Peridot replied. "Now get in before I have to explain to our boss why your stubborn behaviour is a bad thing.

"Oh, fine," Jasper grumbled as she made her way to the passenger side of the car, climbing in and sitting herself down, buckling herself up. "Just as long as we don't do this all the time."

"You're welcome, by the way." Peridot snarked, then took off at a speed Jasper found almost uncomfortable. Within the speed limit, of course, but a little too quick and waaay too aggressive.

The two of them said nothing for a good long while, but finally Jasper spoke. "Pretty good car, this one."

"Yeah," Peridot replied half-heartedly, eyes locked onto the road.

"Not a bad choice. A bit thirsty for driving around in the suburbs, though."

"All I know is that it works and I can keep it maintained."

Jasper smirked. "You an ex-car mechanic or something?"

"No," Peridot said bluntly. "Aspiring astrophysicist and rocket engineer."

"So, like, uber-nerd then."

Peridot sighed. "Do you want me to dump you on the side of the road and make you run the rest of the way there?"

"I think I can manage it. But I get it." Jasper waved a hand dismissively. "Still, that's pretty nerdy of you."

"Coming from what I can only assume is a meatheaded jock, I'll take that as a compliment."

Jasper frowned, the playfulness dropping from her face and voice. " _Was_ a meathead jock."

Peridot sighed, rubbing her eyes briefly with a hand as they sat at a red light. "Right. I figure we're even now though."

"Huh?" Jasper asked, eyebrow arching.

Peridot turned to face Jasper. "Well you called me an uber-nerd, I called you a meatheaded jock. It all balances out."

Jasper blinked, the gears in her brain stuttering before they whirred to life but a splitsecond later. "Oh. Oh! Yeah, that works." Her smile slowly crept back. "Sorry about calling you a nerd, Peri."

"Call me Peridot."

"Sorry about calling you Peri, Dottie."

"Call me Peridot."

"Sorry about calling you Dottie-"

"Don't."

"Fine. Green li-"

"I can see."

"Well with those-"

"Say one thing about my glasses and I'll kick you out of the car."

"Shutting up."

* * *

_15 minutes until Term 1_

"Jasper, you're here a little later than usual," said a petite and lithe girl as she walked over to Jasper and Peridot, who had just entered the teacher's lounge. "Something happen?"

"Woke up late, got a lift from Peridot," she said bluntly as she gestured to Peridot. "Oh yeah. Peridot, this is Lahula Kalani-Jones."

Peridot held out a hand to shake the other woman's. "Peridot Tsukiko."

"Lapis."

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "Lapis?"

Jasper shrugged. "She used to have blue-dyed hair when she was in high-school, or something. Now it's just translated to her clothing colour."

Peridot mouthed an 'oh' as she brought her hand back to her side. "So what do you teach, Lapis?"

"Art and Psychology. I have a lot of experience with the latter, and the former is fun."

While Peridot and Lapis both talked with each other, Jasper meandered her way over to the coffee machine to grab herself a quick cup. Nearby, she could see Ruby and Sapphire chatting quite happily with each other. She imagined that if nobody else was around, they'd be practically all over each other, it was so obvious how deeply in love they were.

"You're late," Sapphire said when there was a lull in the conversation with her girlfriend. Jasper knew it was directed to her, if anything because of the difference in voice.

Jasper chuckled as she pushed on one of the buttons with her thumb. "It's fifteen minutes until we do anything."

"Late for you, she means," Ruby interjected, her voice just slightly louder than 'inside voice' - about as quiet as she'd ever heard her.

"I know, Ruby, don't worry," Jasper retorted wryly as she pulled her fresh and energizing (if not low-quality) cup of coffee away from the machine. "How's your kid doing?"

"Great," Ruby boasted, then made a high-pitched noise almost uncharacteristic of her. "Aww, I'm so proud of her. She's got Sapphy's brains and my muscles."

"Which are, what, like a tenth of mine?" Jasper joked. It was never a good morning if she didn't get to taunt Ruby. As the two athletics teachers there was a lot of friendly rivalry between them.

"Hey!" Upon Sapphire giggling a little too, she became much more flustered, complaining loudly and almost indecipherably. Jasper figured it would be a good time as ever to take a seat and have her drink in peace.

"Jasper?"

So much for peace. With a sigh, Jasper turned in her seat to face probably the most annoying coworker one could ever get - Pearl O'Donovan. "What's up?"

"You're-"

"Late?" Jasper shrugged. "I know, I know."

"Nnnno, I was going to say you're on yard duty today."

"Aw, what? Pearl, come on, you know I have catch up classes to run during Monday lunchtimes!"

Pearl's eyebrow arched as she slipped her pen behind her ear. "It's the new year, remember?"

"...oh." Jasper felt herself deflate a little. She hated going around and telling students to pick up their own damn mess - or worse, the mess of other students who would never bother to put it in the bin themselves, or even bother to show up anyway. "Sure, sure."

"You also know we have a new teacher here, correct?"

"Peridot?" Jasper asked, glancing back at the small asian girl. She seemed sufficiently occupied with talking to Lapis. "Yeah, I met her a week ago. She lives at my place."

"Well I think you sh- wait, wha...?"

Jasper smirked, downing the rest of her coffee. "Yep. We're housemates."

"O-oh, well, that's good. Looks like there's no need for you two to introduce each other before Xanthe gets here."

Jasper nodded, curling up her coffee cup in her hand and getting ready to toss it, much to the incessant squawking of Pearl, before the door opened.

Stepping inside was a woman dressed so sharply you could use her sense of style to cut through steel. Under one hand, a humble newspaper. In the other, the boiling powdered remains of a once-proud group of coffee beans, and not the sort of stuff Jasper had been drinking too. While her expression seemed calm, she knew from experience that her gaze could bore through your soul, and once had forced Ruby to her knees.

Then again, Ruby was always dramatic.

The woman in the dark-yellow suit and skirt, Xanthe Diamanda, made her way to one of the chairs at the end and sat down. She then spoke, quiet but with an unmistakable air of authority. "Everyone, take a seat please, there's a few things we need to run through."

Everyone moved to a seat. Except Jasper, who remained where she sat. She looked across to see Peridot, sitting next to Lapis and looking either scared or eager. It was hard to tell.

"First of all. For those of you who haven't met her already, we have a new teacher in our faculty, who will be covering the I.T. and the advanced mathematics courses, as you are likely aware." She gestured to Peridot, who smiled (forcefully, from the look of it) and looked around at everyone. "I'm sure you'll all get properly acquainted with Miss Tsukiko in the near future."

The rest of the staff meeting was just about the same as always - talk of new changes to the school, none of which concerned Jasper's department, a few extra alterations to how to mark student papers, important events to happen within the semester, that sort of thing. Jasper made sure to note down any of the ones she would be involved in both on her phone and by highlighting her copy of the memo Xanthe had passed to everyone after a moment.

Eventually, with about ten minutes left until classes were to begin, Xanthe told everyone that was all and she stood up, everyone following her example. Jasper waited until her boss wasn't looking before she tossed her cup into the bin (missing once again) and went to go to her first class for the day. Not before bidding Peridot good luck, of course.

* * *

Yard duty. Those two words felt sour in her mouth when combined, like a chemical mixture of... of...

Jasper wasn't good at this analogy stuff.

It was fortunate, though, that the students who were doing it were either known for being decent students, or were terrified of Jasper enough to do it. Of course, there were some no-shows, but Jasper had their names.

As she sat under the tree in the middle of the yard, a sandwich in one hand and her other hand tapping arhythmically on the board, her eyes caught sight of a familiar black-haired woman walking in her general direction.

"Hey Peridot," Jasper said, following with a bite from her lunch.

Peridot glanced towards her, then smiled somewhat. "Hello Jasper. Enjoying yourself?"

Jasper chuckled, swallowing her mouthful. "If by 'enjoying myself' you mean 'so bored I could break this tree in half' then yeah, I am."

"Want some company?" Peridot asked, stepping closer as not to have to raise her voice.

"Sure."

Jasper swatted a box of gloves aside to make some room for Peridot, who sat down and pulled a small box out of her bag, opening it up and revealing the contents inside.

"Sushi?"

"Yes," Peridot said as she separated the chopsticks. "Do you like sushi?"

"Yeah," Jasper replied, glancing between her crummy ham sandwich and the box of sushi in front of Peridot. "Can I have some?"

"No."

She sighed. "Alright. So, how's your first day?"

"About as good as any first day goes. Nobody wants to be there, and as usual with IT classes nobody wants to be there except, maybe, one or two people."

Jasper shrugged. "Wish we could swap some students over. A lot of people in my freshman phys ed class hate it, but they seem like they'd really enjoy IT instead."

"It's a junior's class," Peridot stated matter-of-factly.

"Still, better than watching them do something they don't want to do," Jasper retorted.

Peridot smirked as she took a bite of one of her sushi rolls. "I thought you'd be the stereotypical gym teacher who keeps pressuring students to get fit and get good at sportsball."

"Sportsball?"

"Sportsball."

" _Sportsball._ "

"Yes, sportsball." Peridot sighed.

"Riiiight." Jasper shrugged, leaning back on her free hand as she bit into her sandwich again. "Don't get me wrong, I want them to be fit and healthy, but I never liked seeing them not doing what they want to do. Like their potential is being wasted on a task they're obviously not interested in."

"Guess that happened to you?" Peridot asked.

Jasper froze, eyes going wide for a moment before she looked away, frowning.

Peridot spoke a few long moments later. "Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't- I just-"

"It's fine, Green," Jasper said, perhaps a little too forcefully.

"Green?"

"Yeah, green. Because you're always wearing that colour."

Peridot looked down at herself. "Hm. You're right."

"You don't think I don't notice things like that?"

"Well, I don't want to assume but..."

"Relax, Green."

"Just... call me Peridot."

* * *

"...alright, that's all, class dismissed. You can go home early I guess."

Naturally, most of Jasper's new history class got up and practically turned into a roiling mass of bodies in their eagerness to leave the class. A few stayed behind, one wanting to ask a few questions Jasper was more than willing to answer, one that was slow to get themself packed up, and a few simply lingering behind to chat about something completely unrelated.

When the last student left, as did Jasper, making her way to the teacher's lounge to grab herself her traditional third cup of coffee for the day and then head home. The students had no problem getting out of her way, it seems. One advantage about being built like a tank, Jasper thought proudly to herself.

She finally reached the teacher's lounge, and unsurprisingly she spotted everyone except Xanthe and the Happy Couple lingering around. Pearl sitting at the end of the table reviewing what appeared to be some over-the-break homework, and Lapis and Peridot happily chatting away around the water cooler.

Jasper trudged past all of them, making a direct line to the coffee machine and getting herself another welcome cup of dirty caffeine water. Just before she put it to her mouth, she felt her phone vibrate in her jacket pocket, and she pulled it out.

Amethyst was calling. Immediately after seeing the name, Jasper accepted the call and pulled the phone to her ear. "Yo, Amy."

"Hey Jasper," came the voice of her friend through the speaker of the phone. "Bad time?"

"Nah," Jasper said, taking a sip of her coffee. "Just wrapping up after work."

"Back to that whole teaching thing, huh? Thought you'd end up quitting after last year."

Jasper chuckled. "You know me. I'm pretty dedicated."

"Well cool. So hey, found a new housemate yet?"

"Yeah, I have." Jasper glanced over to Peridot for a moment. "She even works in the same place."

"Whaaaaat?"

"Yeah, I know, it's weird." Jasper sidestepped as Ruby walked in, grabbing two cups of coffee. "But she's cleaner than you."

"Is she cute?"

Jasper rolled her eyes. "Why should I care?"

"Because aren't you, like, super gay or something?"

Jasper smirked and chuckled. "Jealous of her or something?"

"Screw you, Jasper."

"Gladly," Jasper joked, prompting laughter from both of them.

"Anyway, I gotta get this stupid assignment done for my course. I'll call you later, yeah?"

"Just talk to me on Facebook."

Amethyst chuckled. "Okay, okay. See ya, dude."

"See ya." Jasper said, then pulled her phone from her ear and hung up, slipping it back into her pocket.

"Talking to your girlfriend again?" Ruby asked mockingly.

"Yeah, it's Sapphire," Jasper retorted with a grin, prompting her to be punched in the arm. She could only laugh in reply, moreso upon seeing Ruby's reaction. "I'm kidding, Roob."

"I know, I know," Ruby replied, smirking. "S'all in good fun, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So how's Ame doing?" Ruby asked, as Jasper took a gulp of her drink.

"Eh, she's doing okay I guess. Still stuck in university."

"She's sure taking her time," Ruby remarked as she sipped on one of the drinks. "Anyway, gotta go. See you tomorrow."

"See ya," Jasper replied into her cup as Ruby practically sprinted off. Once she was done with her drink, she threw her cup towards the bin, missing her shot, before correcting for her poor aim and walking over to Peridot and Lapis.

"Ah, Jasper," Peridot said upon seeing the larger woman approach. "I was about to head off. Do you want a lift home?"

"Sure."

Peridot raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Why so eager for a lift now?"

"It's the afternoon. I'm not so worried about arriving early when I don't have to be anywhere."

Lapis giggled. "Sounds about right. Ooh, Peridot, while you're giving lifts-"

"I live with Jasper-"

"Could I maybe get a lift home? It takes about an hour and a half to get home without a car."

"How long does it take to get to your place with a car?" Peridot asked.

"Umm... half an hour? I live really close to the beach."

Peridot looked at Jasper. Jasper shrugged.

"Sure, I think I can drop you off at your place. You'll have to tell me the address though."

Lapis smiled. "Thank you."

"Come on, lovebirds," Jasper joked, "let's get going before it's too late for us to see anything."

* * *

"Lapis is really nice," Peridot said as she sat on the couch, a videogame controller in her hand and a green hoodie thrown over herself. She looked more like a student than a teacher at this point.

"She's alright." Jasper shrugged, leaning back into her armrest. "She's smart, though. And good at understanding people."

"She is teaching psychology," Peridot muttered. "Shit!"

"Yeah, but she just... _knows_ how people work. It's freaky sometimes."

"And you don't?"

Jasper shrugged again. "Not like her. I'm good at reading people, but she's almost psychic."

"I'll remember that."

"She seems to like you though," Jasper said. "Don't miss that jump."

"I won't- shit!" She missed the jump. "Stupid controller..."

"A poor workman blames his tools."

"Shut up you. But you think she likes me?"

"Yeah."

"As in, 'like' like or just like?"

Jasper laughed. "Jeez, when did you become a high school student again? I mean like, not 'like' like." She emphasised the 'like' with air quotes. "She's really friendly with you."

"That more than makes up for me being unfriendly," Peridot commented. "Ha! Take that, poor game design!"

"You're not so bad, Green" Jasper said, then stood up, patting Peridot on the head. "You're pretty bad at this game though."

" _Peridot_. And for the record, this game is buggy and-"

"Whatever. I'm gonna go to the garage for a bit."

"And do what?"

"Exercise, what do you think?"

* * *

Jasper was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep.

She had exercised, she had showered, she had her usual pre-bed snack and drink, her bed was nice and soft and clean (for once), but she still couldn't sleep. A quick glance at the clock on the bedside table. 12:04. Six and a half hours before she had to wake up.

She rolled onto her side, then onto her front, then onto her back with her hands behind her head. Nothing.

Was she feeling too hot? She pulled one of the blankets away from her. Nope, that didn't really help. She wasn't feeling cold, that was for sure.

Of all the things she thought of, the most amusing had to be 'I'll sleep on it and figure out why I can't sleep in the morning'. She had to remember that for tomorrow. But in a way, it was true. The best she could do was to get comfortable, close her eyes, keep them closed, and then let her mind drift away into slumber.

The last thing that went through her brain before she finally fell asleep half an hour later was Ruby's comment from earlier. 

_"Talking to your girlfriend again?"_


	2. Fall, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here goes chapter 2, hope y'all enjoy.

_Term 1, Week 5  
Sunday, 10 AM_

As Jasper rounded the last corner between her and home, she slowed down from her jogging pace to a steady walk. She didn't want to completely stink up the place before Lapis came over around noon and cause Peridot to complain.

Peridot had only lived there for five weeks (or six, Jasper scarcely remembered), and already she had completely settled in. Including the 'complaining about your housemate' stage which, apparently, was a common thing with her.

Not that Jasper didn't have reasons to complain to her too. Peridot hardly did any dishes and, when not at work, wore the same clothes for days unless pestered or a guest was coming over. And good luck getting her to bathe quickly, too. Plus she always bitched about the heat even though she was always wearing something with long sleeves.

_Just wait until winter, Miss Tsukiko,_ Jasper thought in her best movie villain internal monologue, _and vengeance will be mine._

Jasper arrived and opened the door, and found Peridot, naturally, in front of the television with a controller in hand, a headset and microphone over her ears, and a half-eaten packet of chips by her side.

"Capture the flag, you clods!" Peridot shrieked into the mic as her body moved involuntarily as she moved her digital avatar across the map. "We're already behind!"

"Morning, Peridot," Jasper said as she stepped in, making a line towards the showers.

"Hey Jasper. Oh, _what?!_ Inhale my dong, you dense-"

Jasper shut the door, rolling her eyes. "Nerd."

A few moments later, she was under the water of the shower, letting it soak into her hair and wash the sweat off her body.

She always found herself thinking in the shower, whether it was as simple as working out a plan for the next class, or as existential as how the world came to being.

The world 'girlfriend' had been bothering her for a while now, like a fly that wouldn't go away. Maybe she needed to swat that damn word against the tiles.

The question was, why was it bothering her so much? Was she feeling lonely without realising it? She hadn't wanted to be with anyone for a long time, and the last time she was in that position...

Not to mention she hadn't been in bed with anyone for a long while. As a teacher, she had to make sure she didn't set a bad example, or at least have any activities found out by her boss. That wouldn't look good for her employment in the future.

Sure, she had had these thoughts before now, but not this regularly. It was weird.

Was this Peridot's doing?

She recoiled a little. Where the hell had that thought come from.

A mystery for another time. She stopped the water, dried herself off with a towel that should probably get washed soon, then wrapped it around her body and moved to her room as quickly as possible.

Peridot was suitably distracted.

"Come on, come on, come on...! Yes!"

* * *

Jasper was sitting on her armchair and flicking through a book when Peridot got up to answer the door.

"Hey Lapis."

"Peridot, hi! How are you?" replied the chipper voice of Lapis.

Jasper put the book aside and brought herself up, walking up behind Peridot. "Yo."

"So, where are we going to go for our little friendly outing?" Lapis asked, leaning forward with her hands behind her back. Cute.

Peridot pushed her glasses up. "I was thinking we should grab some lunch somewhere first. I haven't eaten today."

"Anywhere you want to go in particular?" Jasper asked. _Please don't say McDonalds, please don't say McDonalds-_

"Burger King?"

_Oh thank goodness._

Lapis thought, then nodded. "So nothing too fancy then?"

"I was thinking we save the fancy for dinner," Peridot replied. "Let me just grab some warmer clothes and I should be good to go." The asian girl stepped past Jasper and further into the house.

"You and Peridot seem to be getting along well," Jasper idly commented to Lapis.

Lapis nodded. "She's nice. A bit grumpy and not that good with people, but I like her."

"She's a pain in the ass to live with," Jasper said with a smirk. "But she's alright. Better than living with Ame, that's for certain."

"And she's cuter."

"Yea-" Jasper's breath hitched as her mind ground to a halt. To cover it up, she cleared her throat. "Sorry."

"It's okay." She looked past Jasper and smiled. Jasper turned and saw Peridot walk up in cleaner, neater casual clothing.

"You two ready to go?" she asked.

"Been ready for an hour," Jasper answered.

* * *

Half a burger, four-fifths of some chips and one third of a drink later, Jasper realised she might have a small crush.

Watching Lapis and Peridot, she found her heartbeat rising, breath shortening and mouth occasionally failing to word good. At first she just thought she was having an off day, or maybe she was just happy one of her friends from her days in university was getting along well with her housemate. But she soon worked out that it was more than something like that.

She noticed it when she realised she had been watching the other two girls talk to each other. The words had simply slid past her ears, but she enjoyed seeing them laugh, smile, generally be happy. Plus, she spent what she would normally consider too much time just looking at how the light fell on their faces.

She found herself looking more at Peridot than at Lapis, but that was only by a little bit, and likely because she was sitting directly across from Peridot.

"Jasper?"

And just like that, she was slingshotted right back into her mind. "Wha?"

"You kinda zoned out," Peridot mentioned, biting down on a pinch of fries. "We had to call your name a few times."

"Oh, damn, sorry. I guess I'm pretty tired or something," Jasper lied, rubbing her eyes for effect. She realised then that she was actually pretty tired, though not physically.

"It's fine. Lapis was just telling me how she got into teaching." Peridot smiled, then her face molded itself into a more thoughtful expression. "So how did you two meet?"

Lapis looked at Jasper and smirked. "She literally bumped into me on the first day of the teaching lecture, and we've been frienemies ever since."

Jasper chuckled, taking a bite of her burger. A little colder now, but not a bad cold. "That's the short version. And it's been more frien' than enemy recently."

"I was a bit of a bitch back then," Lapis remarked. Jasper nodded, earning a mock glare from Lapis.

"Hey, I wasn't much better either."

"You were definitely hairier," Lapis said quietly, earning a small punch from Jasper. "What? It's true!"

"That doesn't mean you gotta tell Peridot."

"Well how else is she supposed to know you?"

"By asking me herself?"

Peridot laughed quietly behind her burger. "Nobody likes a gossip, Lapis."

Lapis pouted, taking a sip of her drink in false quiet annoyance.

"So what's the long story?" Peridot asked again.

Jasper leaned back and hummed in thought. "If I remember correctly, I was late to the lecture and I was sprinting like mad to get there. Lapis was late too, but was much closer. I pulled the door open, hard, and barreled straight into Lapis."

"I heard her coming but she was way too fast for me to do anything about it. We crashed into each other, her on top of me, right in front of a full lecture hall. God, that was embarassing..." Lapis continued, a wistful smile on her lips.

Jasper nodded. "After that, we hated each other. Then we settled our differences after a fight. Then we became friends, kinda. Then we both finished our degrees, and decided to work at the same place. And that's pretty much the story."

"Aww," Lapis bemoaned, "what about the story about the eggplant?"

"We don't talk about that." Jasper shot back with a sidelong glare.

"What?" Peridot asked.

"I can't believe it was a whole eggplant-"

"Lapis," Jasper growled with a melodramatic frown, pointing a huge finger at her friend's face, "if you continue this story I will shove that cup into your face."

Lapis laughed, then patted Jasper's accusing hand. "Okay, okay."

"Thank you."

Lapis smirked and whispered to Peridot. "I'll tell you later."

"Lapis _no_!"

"Lapis _yes_!"

"You two are so weird."

* * *

"You know we're responsible adults, right? And as responsible adults we have a job we have to attend tomorrow?" Peridot asked as she eyed the flat boxes resting on the glass table. "And we're here with cider, pizza, video games and Twister."

Lapis, who had been kind enough to host the evening's plans, simply smirked as she cracked open a bottle of cider and took a gulp. "That's why we're only having one drink each."

"Make that sixty-six point six recurring drinks between us," Peridot said dryly, "since I'm driving."

"Aww, come on Green-"

"Peridot."

"-one drink isn't going to make you unable to drive," Jasper said with a smirk, pointing a bottle at Peridot. The asian girl simply pushed the bottle to the side with the back of one of her hands.

"Peer pressure isn't going to work, especially since I know my limits. And I'd rather not get anywhere close to them." She opened one of the boxes. "Jasper, you can have my drink. I'll simply indulge in pizza."

"Suit yourself," Jasper said as she opened a bottle with her bare hands, chugging a little from it. "I'll be able to take it."

Lapis held up the box of Twister. "How about we play this first?"

Peridot sighed. "With Jasper? That would be like having a... a tiger play."

"Cuz I'll whoop your ass?" Jasper remarked, an eyeroll from Peridot following.

"No, I mean you're naturally larger than Lapis and I combined, you have an unfair advantage."

"But you're smaller than Lapis and me, so you'll be able to slip under me better."

Lapis nodded. "I mean, I'm thinner, but you're smaller."

"Come on, Green-"

" _Peridot_."

"-it's gonna be fine."

Peridot sighed, her eyes darting around for a few moments. "Fine. But pizza first."

***

Jasper was winning.

Jasper loved winning.

Peridot was trembling, her limbs in positions that would soon mean her downfall. Jasper stood strong, having planned her positioning in advance. As long as her thinking held out, she'd be fine.

"Why did I agree to this...?!" Peridot half-gasped, half-whined.

"Oh hush," Jasper retorted.

"I'm spinning the wheel thing," Lapis mentioned, then once again flicked her finger on the rotating pointer. "Jasper, you gotta put your left foot on... red."

Jasper smirked. "Easy."

One quick glance told her it would not, in fact, be easy. She would have to contort her body in a weird way to get her foot there, with the best route going right through Peridot.

But she would be damned if she didn't try.

She lifted her leg, and slooooowly moved it over Peridot's body, heading towards one of the red circles...

And in almost an instant, everything went wrong. Jasper's hand slipped, and with it her whole body went in a direction she desperately didn't want to go. Training kicked in and she rolled her body in a way that she would be fine from the impact, but too late did she realise she was still going to land on Peridot.

She hit the smaller girl with a thud, and they both collapsed onto the ground with a crack.

That crack can't have been a good sound.

"Oh, shit!" Lapis gasped, hand covering her mouth as she rushed over to Jasper to pull her off Peridot. Jasper rolled with the pull, getting off Peridot as quickly as possible. "Peridot?!"

"Fuck, that hurt..." Peridot groaned, pulling herself up with one arm. She was kneeling, when she looked at one of her arms. Jasper didn't have to be a doctor to know arms didn't bend that way, let alone flop helplessly.

"Jesus, Green-

" _ **Peridot.**_ "

"-your arm!" Jasper shouted, dashing up to Peridot to have a look. Peridot glanced down, using her other arm to lift it up. Something cracked, and when she let go, the broken arm fell out and landed on the ground with a thud.

The three of them looked at it in silence, then at Peridot, then at Jasper.

"Jasper, you _clod_."

***

"You're a _cyborg_?" Jasper asked loudly, prompting Peridot to cover her ear with the opposite hand, since her other arm was kind of... not there.

"I... yeah, I suppose I am, though my arms aren't linked to my body through sci-fi tech, just sensors at the end which detect the muscle movement of the limb underneath."

"...right," Jasper muttered.

Peridot sighed, tapping the broken arm with her finger. The arm looked pretty much human, except for the electronic and mechanical stuff at the end. The leather glove Peridot was previously wearing was still on it, the matching one still over her other hand.

"Wait, so that other arm is robotic too?" Lapis asked, poking Peridot's other arm. Peridot frowned and pulled it back.

" _Prosthetic_ , and yes."

"How'd you lose them?"

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Well, for my left arm, which, no thanks to you Jasper, is now lying on the table, I wasn't born with one naturally."

"And the other?" Jasper asked.

"Plane crash," Peridot said curtly, then grabbed her arm off the table, examining the broken end. "Now, I can probably fix it, but I'll need to work on it back in my room and it'll have to be done over a few days. I'll need a sling to support it so I can still work without it hanging limply in front of everyone."

Jasper nodded. "I think we can make one, I've got some stuff at my place."

"Ooh, wait a second." Lapis bolted off, only to return a few moments (and a couple of crashes later) with something in her hands. She moved next to Peridot, slipping in between her and Jasper, and started fixing her arm into a sling. "Here. I broke my arm a year ago, never got around to throwing away the sling."

Peridot smiled, sighing with relief. "Thank you, Lapis. At least now I have an excuse as to why I won't be driving with two hands if we're pulled over."

Jasper didn't want to feel disappointed that Lapis was more readily able to help her. But she was, and it was absurd. She should be glad she didn't have to go through the effort of preparing a sling, and glad that Peridot wouldn't have to worry about her arm being all over the place.

It was either because she felt guilty that she broke Peridot's arm and wanted to help her in some way, or...

_Dammit, I think I have a crush on her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter certainly happened. I'm glad it didn't come out badly.
> 
> Next chapter I'll focus more on their work life or something, unless you guys have any suggestions for what you wanna see. But rest assured, there will be soopr seekrit plot twists a-happenin'.
> 
> Enjoy, and lemme know what you think :)


	3. Fall, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Ere we go!

_Term 1, Week 10  
Friday, 2:45 PM_

Nobody wanted to be here. Not the students, not the teachers, and from it's incessant tapping on the window, not even the fly in the room.

Jasper certainly didn't want to be here either. Not only was her holiday coming up soon (excluding time to mark some tests and such), but she hated being a substitute teacher. All that really constituted was giving students work the teacher had assigned for this purpose or, in this case, giving them the work and just putting on a movie for the students to watch. Only half of them seemed to be watching, the rest were either occupying themselves or talking amongst each other.

Much to her personal chagrin she had been forced to put on a chick flick, and not even one that was half-good either.

She had been forced to look over, of all classes, Lapis' psychology group. Which is why she put on the movie and gave them worksheets, no way she would be able to help them with anything but the most basic.

_Why did Lapis have to clock off a day early?_ , she wondered. _And why did_ I _have to take over all her classes?_

She also, really, really wanted to see Peridot. She didn't have a reason why, but every time she thought about seeing her, her heart began to race and she felt her face flush. She hated to admit it, but in the past few weeks, her crush had been gaining strength, like a bulldozer rolling down a cliff. Or would boulder be a better analogy? Either way, the same sort of thing - large, heavy, and it couldn't be stopped easily.

She wanted to get out of this room. She felt just like the fly, tapping harmlessly against the glass window.

Except the fly got out a few minutes before she did.

* * *

"You've been awfully quiet," Peridot commented as she slowed the car down for a red light. "Something wrong?"

"I, uh," Jasper started, stammering for a few moments before speaking. "I guess I'm still feeling a little guilty about not doing much to help fix your arm."

"You did pay for most of the things I needed to repair it," Peridot said, briefly checking her phone. "And you wouldn't stop nagging me about how it was going."

"Yeah, I know," Jasper muttered, leaning back into the seat. "But I still feel bad for it. I mean, it's not as good as before, right?"

"Actually, I think it's a little better." Peridot took off at the next light; Jasper was still getting used to her aggressive driving style. "Since I customised it a little for what I want, or need, it to do."

"Which is play video games and write angry comments on the internet," Jasper quipped.

"Exactly." Peridot chuckled, turning left. "Of course, I'm right-hand dominant. So if you're going to break one of my arms again, make sure you think about which one you're going to."

"Alright," Jasper replied with a smirk. She soon found herself lapsing back into what felt like awkward silence. She still wasn't sure what to think about Peridot in... well, anything close to a relationship. But she knew she liked Peridot, if not as a crush than as a friend. She lied to herself that she'd be fine with them being friends, even though she wanted something more, like being able to hug her or ki-

"Don't you think it's weird how most of our friends and colleagues have gemstone-like names?"

Jasper shook her head quickly. "What?"

"I mean, Peridot, Lapis bracket Lazuli end-bracket, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamandia, Amethyst, Jasper-"

"Jasper's not a gemstone," Jasper retorted.

"It is."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Look it up."

Jasper made a note to do so when she returned home, which she promptly forgot after another quiet moment of thought to herself.

* * *

Peridot sighed as she tapped a message out on her phone. "Apparently Lapis wants to go do a Halloween thing and has invited the two of us."

Jasper grunted as she pulled the dumbell up. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously." Peridot put her phone down and picked up the game controller again. "She says she's willing to make us costumes if we can't make our own in time."

Jasper dropped the dumbell onto it's resting pillow and leaned back on her armchair. "Pass."

"Halloween not your thing?" Peridot asked idly as she pulled up some old-looking 2D platformer with annoyingly catchy music.

"There aren't many characters or monsters or... whatever... out there I can dress up as," Jasper commented.

"Sure there are," Peridot commented. "Ryu or Ken from _Street Fighter_ -"

"Too masculine. Also I don't do short hair."

"Captain America from the Marvel Cinematic Universe-"

"I don't really like comics."

"Frankenstein's Monster-"

"Again, short hair. Also kind of offensive."

"Chewbacca?"

"Too much hair."

"What about that big girl from that cartoon you like? She looks a lot like you."

"Not dyeing my hair pink, thank you."

"Something from _Dark Souls_?"

"Nerd. Also, no."

"Well, you think of something, you just tell me."

"If."

* * *

"I can make it in three days," Lapis said, passing Peridot's phone back to her rightful owner. "Maybe two if I make it a little simpler and if you work on making the armour bits."

Peridot nodded. "I can work with that. It doesn't have to be too complicated, I mean, this isn't a convention we're going to."

"But we can use them if we _do_ go to a convention," Lapis replied cheerily.

Jasper rolled her eyes and found herself smirking. "Nerds."

"Do you have any costume ideas, Jasper?" Lapis asked, tilting her head.

"Nope."

"Wha-" Lapis' jaw dropped. "But it's Halloween, you've got to have something."

"I haven't been trick or treating in years. Why would I start now?"

"Because," Lapis said, pointing a finger up, "it's fun and everyone's doing it."

"They said the same thing about drugs back when I was in high school."

Peridot gasped. "I got it! I got a character you can go as!"

"Who?" Lapis and Jasper asked in unison.

"Vi!"

They looked at each other.

"From _League of Legends_."

They shrugged.

"Giant powerfists, loves to punch stuff?"

"Peri," Lapis said, "we don't play _League of Legends_."

"Oh. Hang on, let me-"

While Peridot fiddled with her phone, Jasper wondered why the small asian girl didn't become annoyed at being called 'Peri'. Peridot brought her phone up and the other two looked down at the picture on it.

Jasper had no idea who she was, but she looked kinda cool. Maybe a little bit curvy for Jasper to pull the look off, but still better than most of the other suggestions.

"So, thoughts?"

Lapis shrugged. "She looks like just about every LoL character I've seen. But I can make that in a few days."

"What?"

"Oh, right. I play _DotA_."

Peridot looked at Lapis like she had just insulted her, and Lapis was only smirking in response. Jasper simply held up her hands and walked out of the room for a few minutes.

* * *

_1 day until Halloween_

This was the week Jasper would do it.

She would ask Peridot out on a date, dressed in a costume from some nerdy video game she liked while going around and asking strangers for some candy despite her nearly being thirty years old. Sure, Lapis and Peridot could probably pull off looking like teenagers, but asking a six-foot-two girl with muscles like Schwarzenegger to pose as a teenager would be impossible.

So she'd hang back and let the other two handle the negotiations, she would just enjoy the night. Then, when they drop Lapis off back at home, she'll ask Peridot, and... maybe it'll go somewhere. Maybe it won't work out, maybe it will, but at least she'd know if her attraction was genuine.

It didn't stop her feeling like there was a rock sitting in her stomach, taunting her with nervousness and nausea. 

Someone pressed the doorbell, which nearly caused her to jump through the roof. It was probably Lapis coming over with the finished costumes. She walked out of her room and into the loungeroom, wearing just a simple tank top and some pants - covered, but not as presentable as she could be.

Fortunately, it was Lapis, and she had a couple of bags in her hands. Peridot closed the door behind her.

"Hey you two," Lapis huffed, putting the bags down. "I've got your costumes here. Green bag is Jasper's, blue is yours, Peri."

Jasper walked to her back and zipped it open. The smell of fabric dye and spraypaint filled her nose, and she gagged. Who knew what was in those things?

Peridot reached into her, smaller, bag and pulled out a blue and yellow jumpsuit, turning it around in her hands. "Wow. This looks incredible, Lapis. How did you manage it?"

Lapis leaned against one of the walls, smiling. "I have my ways."

Jasper pulled out a solid piece from the bag - a gauntlet, made of something lightweight but sturdy and painted in a somewhat simple mockery of the character's design (which, she didn't want to admit, she had spent a while looking at). The glove wasn't as big as the character's, but suitably large enough to look impressive and, with a small test, it fit well.

"Do you want us to try them on?" Peridot asked.

"Please. I just need to see if I need to make a few corrections to them."

"Well I can slip on this jumpsuit now," Peridot remarked, before Lapis interrupted her.

"I'd prefer to check each in private. Keeps the surprise up for the day itself. Oh yes, and Jasper, we'll have to style your hair to match."

Jasper suddently felt very defensive of her hair.

* * *

_Halloween night_

Jasper was both simultaneously a ten-year old kid and a grumpy fourty-year old. It wasn't uncommon for teenagers and college students to go trick or treating, and adults to do so while supervising their kids. But for three adults on their own to be doing it? Still felt odd. Not to mention the shorter hair really didn't help either - she preferred having longer hair.

She was both hating and loving the concept of trick or treating. Though, to be honest she was mostly hanging back and enjoying the exploits Lapis and Peridot were gaining.

The two walked back to Jasper, holding their baskets with delight. Peridot was smiling, though not as much as Lapis seemed to be.

"I can't believe you're cosplaying as a character from _DotA_ ," Peridot muttered, smirking. 

"I can't believe you made me make a _LoL_ costume," Lapis retorted snidely.

"I can't believe you got me doing this," Jasper interjected. "But I can't argue with the results."

"Not that you're doing anything," Lapis remarked.

"To be fair," Peridot said around a wrapped chocolate bar in her mouth, "she'd scare everyone off."

Jasper shrugged. "She's right."

"Well, I think we've got enough candy for now." Peridot lifted up her bag. "I plan to consume this slowly over the next few days."

"Well I don't know about you two," Lapis said, "but I'm going to give myself a sugar coma."

Jasper shuddered involuntarily at the thought. "Well, I don't know about you but I'm really tempted to go get us something warm to eat. I mean," she pointed to the sky, "it's pretty cold."

"Ooh, that's a good idea. Why don't we all go get some coffee at that place near the park?" Lapis asked.

Peridot snickered around her Snickers bar, which had now been opened. "No spooky graveyard visits?"

"Nah, everyone's going to be there."

"Then coffee it is," Jasper laughed.

***

"...and one of your halloween specials, please."

"That'll be 20 bucks."

Jasper reached into the only pocket she had, and passed the store owner a fifty, grabbing the thirty in return with the usual exchanged thank-yous and your-welcomes. Leaning back against the stall, she looked up into the cloudy night sky and took a moment to think, though kept her ears attuned.

Why had she put off asking Peridot out for so long? It wasn't normally this hard for her. 'Hey, so, I kinda like you, wanna go out some time?' See? Not hard.

And yet, whenever she thought about asking, she would seize up and her mouth would just not work. It was like there was some sort of psychological wall stopping her from doing anything. Which certainly didn't help, as Jasper wasn't fond of obstacles in her way of what she wanted.

The question is, did she actually want Peridot? She was cute, yes, and wasn't too bad to be around, but was she just wanting something more carnal out of the experience? Did she care about about Peridot, or did she just want someone in her life and Peridot was the most attractive option?

She shook herself out of her reverie when she heard the coffee was ready, nicely ordered on a cardboard tray. With a thank you, she grabbed the tray and walks off towards the park, to go find wherever her friends were sitting.

She got lost.

_Shit._

How could it be hard to miss them? Peridot almost always had her phone out, not to mention her costume had some lights on it which the small girl had added herself. Lapis was another story, though, but she was probably with Peridot.

She walked in circles for about a minute, cursing quietly at a tree that kept mocking her with it's mere presence, before she finally spotted something on the reflection on the pond. A few orange lights and a dull green one.

That was probably them. Sighing with relief, she circled around the pond to meet up, but stopped half-way there.

Lapis was close to Peridot, practically up close to her. Their faces were barely an inch away from each other, too. Jasper felt something drop inside her as she stepped closer still, slower and quieter.

She didn't need to be too much closer to know what was going on.

They were kissing.

Jasper felt any mirth she had divebomb into the pond, curling up to drown.

They were hugging and kissing.

She almost let the tray go, but instead found herself crushing it.

They were hugging and kissing and getting close.

Jasper's jaw set as she closed her eyes, turning her head away.

They were hugging and kissing and getting close and she hadn't noticed it would happen.

Her eyes misted up, and she had to use the back of her hand to wipe them, before she took a number of tentative steps forward. She took a little solace in the fact her face was in the shadows.

She cleared her throat, and the two of them jumped, separating themselves. "You two having fun?"

Peridot sighed a 'yeah', but Lapis skirted around the statement. "Are those the coffees?"

"Yeah," Jasper croaked, stepping closer and handing each coffee to them. Dammit, her hand was shaking. "This is yours, Lapis. This is yours, Peri."

Peridot didn't chide her for using a nickname, but thanked her for the drink.

"Are you okay, Jasper?" Lapis asked.

"Yeah, I am," Jasper lied, moving her face away from the lights on Peridot's wrist when she reached for her drink. "Just tired, I guess. Adult life catching up."

"If you say so."

Jasper sighed, then forced a yawn. "Hey, look, this has been fun, but I think I'm going to go home. I gotta get some sleep. But I'll catch you two later, alright?"

Peridot shook herself back to reality. "Are you sure?" When Jasper nodded, she reached for a bag on her belt and held it out. "Here then. Your halloween candy."

"Keep it," Jasper snapped, then groaned. "I mean, I gotta look after my body after all. Plus you two went through the effort of getting it."

"Alright, if you want." Peridot shrugged. "Well, see you later, I guess."

"See you."

Jasper walked off. Once she was sure she was far enough away for them to see, she stopped, feeling her blood boiling under her skin, hands trembling almost violently.

Wordlessly, she hurled her untouched coffee at the nearest solid object, watching the contents splash everywhere and the cup bend out of shape. With that done, she stormed home. Determined not to break down until she was in the privacy of her own room.

She needed a fucking drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not sure how I feel about the quality of this chapter, but I think it's good enough to post.
> 
> Didn't get to do as much on their work life as I was thinking about doing, but I had the plot twist lined up and ready to go, and I figured now would be as good as ever.
> 
> Also, can someone explain to me why I like writing angsty/dramatic stuff more than fluff? That'd be nice kthxbai
> 
> Anyways, the next chapter will probably be out in a day or two. Until then, enjoy :)


	4. Winter, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should probably warn some people - this chapter is preeeetty heavy at the start. Shan't spoil it for you, but needless to say this might upset some readers. I mean no harm in doing this, though.

_Three days until the start of Term 2_

Jasper didn't know what hurt more. The hangover, or the fact that Lapis and Peridot not only kissed, but were now confirmed to be a thing, according to a post on Facebook.

She didn't even know why it had hurt so much too. And why she was still hurt. Was this part of a long-boiling revenge scheme by Lapis for something she did back in college? Was Peridot just more interested in Lapis than in her? Was Lapis attracted to Peridot too but actually took the first step?

Fuck if she knew, but she needed either a drink or a shower. Considering the throbbing pain in her head, she figured a shower would be better.

She grabbed a fresh towel from the hallway as she staggered to the bathroom, her stomach flipping it's rock around like a hackey-sack. The bathroom wasn't occupied, fortunately, and she set to work on setting up the shower.

She spent longer than usual in it, staying until the water ran cold and she had to step out. She approached the mirror, annoyed to find it misted up, and she cleared it with her hand.

Something wasn't right. Grabbing the closest towel to her, she cleared off the mirror more thoroughly and had a closer look.

It took her a moment to realise, that the stubble-dusted, short-haired person in the mirror wasn't a hallucination, but was in fact her. Her eyes went wide and panic exploded in her chest, a million thoughts rushing through her head as she staggered for the shaving cream and a razor.

_Did I forget to take my-_  
How could I be so fucking stupid-  
Oh god what if Peridot found out-  
I haven't had facial hair and short hair for years- 

She haphazardly slathered some cream on her face and, without thinking, began running the razer over her face. She cut herself once. Twice. Three times. Each time stung worse.

By the fourth cut, she howled in anger and, after throwing the razor against the nearest wall, turned back to the mirror and stared at herself, glaring daggers at her past.

She yelled again, red lining her vision. She felt her body lurch, her fist connect with the mirror, then a sting as the mirror fought back. She pulled her hand back and swung again, harder this time. Something clattered to the floor and the stinging became worse.

She pulled her hand back, and swung once again, immediately recoiling as she felt something slice her hand. The white anger soon turned to the black of pain as she looked at her bleeding hand, her breath shuddering.

She lurched. Someone called her name. She lurched again, then rushed to the toilet, the remainder of yesterday's dinner and drink being forced out of her body. And again. And again.

She felt an arm rest on her shoulders. She pushed against the body it was attached to before she lurched again, her stomach running out of content soon but the gagging still following, acidic and painful.

"Jasper?"

She looked, through a haze of pain, tears and self loathing. Peridot, a hand reaching out. Jasper lurched one more time, before she reached for a towel and threw it over her front, not looking at Peridot, even when the smaller girl moved over, her hands wrapping around her body.

She finally broke down.

* * *

"Here. Drink this."

Jasper looked at the glass of water with tired eyes, grabbing it with her shaking, bandaged hand and taking a sip, saying nothing.

"Feeling better?"

Jasper nodded a little. She spoke, her voice feeling fragile. "Pill bottle, behind the mirror, pink."

Peridot stood up and walked away, returning soon enough with the bottle, opening it for Jasper before handing it to her. Jasper took a couple of pills out and chugged them down with a few mouthfuls of water.

"How much did you see...?" she asked, softly.

"I saw..." Peridot started, then sighed. "I saw enough."

"Sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

Peridot shook her head. "You don't need to apologise for anything. Well, except for the excessive drinking."

Jasper groaned, putting her head in her hands. "God, I'm such an idiot..."

"You're not. You're just not feeling well."

Jasper rubbed what was left of the stubble with her hand. "I don't feel like I'm... me."

"If you need to get anything off your chest," Peridot said softly, putting an arm around Jasper, "I'm right here."

"It's a... a long story, Peridot."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Jasper finally told Peridot everything she needed to know. About how she felt like she was a girl from when she was seventeen. About how she used to ignore it until she got to the end of her seniour year. About how she gave up a military career to be a teacher. How she finally decided to see a doctor and become who she felt she was. Everything.

Except for what she felt a week ago, when she saw Lapis and Peridot.

And Peridot listened. Or, she hoped so. She didn't pull her phone out or grab the controller. She was thankful of that.

When she finished, they both sat, quiet. Peridot broke the silence first; Jasper couldn't.

"Sorry."

"What are you apologising for, Green?" Jasper replied, with a weak voice and a weak smirk. 

"Sorry I've been a bad friend to you." Peridot sighed, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I should have been more supportive, or at least there to help you. But instead, I've been doing work and meeting up with Lapis."

Jasper wasn't sure what to feel at this point; she was too tired and too broken to feel thankful, jealous, or whatever. She just nodded in reply and whispered an 'I appreciate it'.

Peridot gave a comforting rub to Jasper's shoulder. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine," Jasper croaked. "But thank you. I think I'd like a bit of time alone."

"I'll leave you to it, then," Peridot said. "There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry."

Jasper found herself chuckling. "Thanks, mom."

Peridot mock-laughed in return, but Jasper could still hear the smile in her voice. Then, she left, and Jasper soon fell asleep on the couch.

* * *

_Term 2, Week 2  
Wednesday, 12:13 PM_

Jasper blew on her whistle. "Alright everyone, good hustle! Go get changed and showered and go have lunch. I'll see you on Friday."

The group of tired, sweaty students walked off to their respective shower rooms, as Jasper dropped herself down on one of the crappy plastic seats they had lining the gym, leaning back and looking up at the roof, idly examining the lining of it as her mind wandered.

Now that she was back in action, eating healthily and looking after herself, she felt much, much better, physically and emotionally. She felt almost like her full self again, and she was glad for that. Hell, even her hair was starting to grow back out a little, and while it was still uneven it was long enough to tie back without it looking too peculiar.

But she still hadn't recovered fully. She would still need a couple of weeks to go back to her usual 'I don't need to shave every week' self, and she still found it hard to look at herself in any sort of reflection without feeling a small shot of anxiety freeze her to the core. Her hand was still scarred from her outburst, though the scabs were starting to come loose, even if they were itchy as all hell.

But Peridot had been helping her, offering her a shoulder to lean on, cry on if it came to that. Anything Jasper needed, Peridot gave to her to the best of her abilities. Jasper didn't like being treated like she was helpless, but nevertheless she appreciated it.

Lapis, Ruby and Sapphire had been kind to her, too. Lapis and Ruby in particular knew what was bothering her, which considering how long she'd known them, it made sense. Ruby certainly knew Jasper the longest, and while she wasn't exactly subtle or gentle in her attempts to help her snap back, Jasper could take a little shoving around. Lapis used her freaky people-knowledge to help Jasper more professionally, and Sapphire had helped restrain Ruby's more aggro ideas and provide some surprisingly delicious tea for Jasper every now and again.

Three more weeks, Jasper thought, and then she could finally go back to not needing anyone.

Except, maybe, for Peridot.

She sighed, leaning forward and resting her chin in her hand, brow furrowing. It had been a few weeks and she _still_ couldn't get over what happened. It wasn't that she wasn't happy for them, she just wished it could have been her instead of Lapis. Self-centred, she knew, but she wouldn't deny it.

The more she thought about it, the more she knew she wanted Peridot so that she herself could be happy. She desperately wanted someone in her life she could be intimate with without any freak-outs or assumptions being made.

She could also really, really go for something to eat right about now.

"Hey Ms. Brooks!" came the annoyingly cheerful voice of one of her students. She turned, and saw the freshman standing there, smiling warmly at her.

Jasper sighed, sitting a little straighter, and returned the smile. "Hey Steven. Need anything?"

Steven shook his head. "Are you okay, miss? You don't seem very happy."

That Steven kid really knew people, huh? He could give Lapis a run for her money. Jasper shrugged in response. "Been a pretty hard few weeks for me, kid."

"Do you..." Steven started, fingers dancing around each other nervously, "...need someone to talk to?"

Jasper chuckled. Steven's power to be a great (and very inexpensive) emotional healer was well known in the lounge. "I'll save you from the worst of it," Jasper started, then frowned, "but don't use me as an excuse to skip out on anything important."

Steven beamed, bouncing over and sitting next to her. He was hardly the most athletic kid and often did poorly when it came to fitness tests, but he was a motivated and inspired little kid. Considering his mother, and what she'd heard about his father, that made perfect sense.

"So, what's wrong?" Steven asked.

Jasper leaned back, looking up at the ceiling again. "There's this person I really like."

Steven nodded, turning slightly to face her.

Jasper glanced at him, then back up. "I was going to ask them out-"

"Like, on a date?"

Jasper nodded. "Before I did, though, I saw them..." how should the phrase this delicately... "...being asked out by someone else."

"I see..." Steven said quietly.

Jasper leaned forward again, staring off into the distance. "I felt really bad about it. I still do. I'm happy for them, don't get me wrong, but I just feel... jealous."

"It'd just be like if someone asked Connie out before I did," Steven commented.

"Wait, Connie? That ner- I mean, that quiet girl who's always reading and you always hang out with?"

"Yeah. I mean, I kind of like her, and I was thinking about asking her out soon, but I'm pretty scared about what might happen."

Jasper hummed in thought. "Well, take it from me. If you're going to do it, then do it. I mean, if you want to wait a little bit, fine, but the longer you leave it..."

Steven nodded, then his face lit up. "Ooh, I know! I'll ask her out for the prom!"

"Can always ask her out earlier, but," Jasper muttered, then spoke normally, "that's not a bad idea."

"Mhm!"

A few moments of silence passed, then Steven spoke. "Well, if you really like this person, then don't do anything to try to break them up." He continued, looking at Jasper. "If their relationship works out, great for them. It might hurt, but it'll be for the best. If it doesn't, then just go with the flow."

Damn. This kid was good.

"It's just like Garnet always says. 'Love takes time, and love takes work'. And like I always say, 'don't mess with your funky flow'."

Jasper chuckled, then patted Steven on the head, then pulled herself off the seat. She felt a small hand tug on her pant leg.

"Oh yeah! My mom wanted me to give you this." Steven reached into his bag and pulled out a letter, holding it out. Jasper plucked it from his grasp and had a look, opening it up as Steven jogged off, saying goodbye.

_To Jasper Brooks_  
You are invited to a dinner party hosted by Rose Universe and Xanthe Diamandia for the teachers of Beach City High School and East Delmarva High School  
blah blah blah blah more details to look at later blah  
some address to look up  
at 6 PM next Saturday 

Jasper frowned, turning the letter over in her hands a few times, wondering what the hell this was all about.

She'd find out soon enough, she supposed.

* * *

"It's a multi-purpose function," Xanthe commented to the gathered throng of teachers. "It's a way to organise cross-school events without having to use up phone bills or awkward social media messages which might be missed entirely, as well as, and I quote 'a reunion for many of the teachers who had studied in the same years'."

"Yeah," Ruby said, arms crossed and foot tapping the ground, "but why have Steven and Garnet hand out letters rather than mailing them to us?"

"Or just mailing them to us in the first place," Peridot continued. Jasper knew that Lapis had given her her letter, but from whence it came she had no clue.

Xanthe sighed. "Ask Rose. It was her idea to do that, not mine." Dryly, she added, "Maybe she's still paranoid after what the postal service did."

"What-"

"Ask her yourself," Xanthe snapped, then groaned and rubbed her head. "I mean... it's not my story to tell. I don't even know half the details."

The others gathered looked at each other. Jasper and Ruby just shrugged at each other.

"Anyway, that's all I think needs to be explained. You know how to contact me if there's anything you don't understand." And with that, Xanthe walked around the group and left the teacher's lounge, likely towards her own office.

Jasper sighed, making a direct path to the coffee machine. Pearl moved next to her, activating the electric kettle for some tea.

"Pretty weird way of doing it, huh?" Jasper remarked. "But it works."

"Huh?" Pearl squawked, "Oh! Right. Yes, it does."

"...you okay, Pearl?" Jasper asked, leaning on the counter. Normally she would have just walked away and let Pearl be Pearl, but her recent... experiences made her feel somewhat obligated to at least show some sort of care to others. Even to Mama Bird over here.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just a little tired," Pearl replied, pouring the water into a mug and dropping a teabag into it. "And maybe a little nervous."

"Meeting up with your old crush?"

Pearl coughed suddenly, eyes wide. She nodded, clearing her throat. "It was not a 'crush', Jasper. Merely a... childish infatuation."

"That's called a crush."

"And for the record, it's not just that. It's also that we'll have to be interacting with..." she muttered quietly "Sugi Maharaj."

Jasper blinked for a moment, then groaned. "Of course. Sugilite..."

"Sugil-"

"Long story."

Sugi was, if anything, Jasper's true rival. They had pretty much mirrored histories, excluding gender identity issues and the fact they hardly knew each other except on the metaphorical field of battle (and training fields in the army). And, to add insult to injury, she was also East Delmarva's major athletics teacher, which often meant that the two of them ended up facing each other down during sport events.

Jasper might be built like a truck, but Sugi was a tank, though she moved like one. Add to the fact that they hated each other, and this...

...could not end well.

"I don't know whether to feel sorry for the restaurant or everyone else who'll be there," Jasper murmured.

* * *

It was freezing cold, and the tank top wasn't helping.

Jasper felt underdressed for this event. Sure, she had a suit jacket on and some fancy pants, but the rest? Forget it.

Peridot, however, looked a little more appropriately tailored for this, with the same sort of formal getup she wore when they first met in person. Jasper spent probably a little too long looking at how well it accentuated her small figure, and looked away whenever Lapis, Peridot or in fact anyone else looked.

The three of them, four including Xanthe who was standing behind them, flicking through messages on her phone with one hand, were waiting outside the restaurant, waiting for the others to show up. Eventually, they did. Ruby and Sapphire were first, followed by Rose, Steven and Greg, then Pearl, who had taken a lift from someone who looked like her sister.

Jasper immediately got talking to Ruby, who complained loudly about having to wear a suit and fidgited endlessly, Sapphire calmly comforting her in her strange way.

More guests arrived soon enough. A wild-haired girl in an aqua dress first, who was addressed cheerfully by Rose as 'Malory'. Second was a fit-looking woman with a peculiar fashion sense who she knew as Alexandra. A minute later, and almost thirty seconds too late, a familiar deep purple car pulled up. Stepping out of the vehicle and stretching, was a figure Jasper had desperately hoped had forgotten her invitation.

The large, imposing figure of Sugi walked over to Rose and greeted her with a firm handshake, then turned to Jasper and flicked her sunglasses up. "Funny seein' you here."

Jasper rolled her eyes. "Thought you'd forget to show up, like that baseball game."

Sugilite frowned, flicking her sunglasses back down. "Not like you were any better for that football game."

Jasper's eyes narrowed. Sugilite's did (probably). They only looked away when Rose cheerfully told everyone it was time to go in.

Sugi gestured to the door. "After you, _princess_."

"No no, _your highness_ , after you."

"Dear god," Xanthe remarked with no small hint of annoyance, "you're acting like children."

* * *

Jasper was thankful that Lapis had decided to sit across from Sugi instead of her, otherwise the whole table would be a wreck. Sure, it made organising sporting events difficult, but better to do that than have to pay extra.

Awkwardly, though, Jasper was sitting next to Peridot, Ruby was on the other side with all attention on Sapphire, and across from her sat an empty seat.

"How are you doing?" Peridot asked after a moment, eyes on the menu.

Jasper shrugged. "Better, I guess. Not too happy about Sugi being here."

"What's with you and her anyway?"

"We've been rivals in anything physical since I was a junior," Jasper mentioned. "She's always been bigger, but I've been faster. And smarter." She made sure the last comment was quiet enough that Sugi couldn't hear it. Sugi seemed far too occupied bragging to Steven while Greg and Pearl looked on, the former with concern and the latter with what looked like jealousy.

Jasper grabbed her menu and looked through it, as Peridot put hers down and brought out her phone with her left hand. Her right hand seemed occupied, and one quick glance told her that it was intermingled with Lapis'.

"And what was that about not turning up for a game?"

"I had a stomach bug that week. Couldn't turn up, though I wanted to."

"Smart move," Peridot said.

"Ah!" Rose exclaimed, standing up to greet two newcomers with some friendly hugs. "Opal, Alexia, so glad you could make it!"

A distinctly cheerful, British accented voice replied first. "Oh my stars, the traffic here was awful!" She tuned the rest out, as the other woman walked past and sat across from Jasper.

She was beautiful. Jasper couldn't deny it. She was tall, probably taller than Jasper, even factoring in her mop of unruly hair. Her face had this peculiar look to it, with a long nose and full lips that she would have never imagined would actually work so well. Her hair was tied up in the back but still had a few long, blonde locks hanging on the sides. A necklace with a single, glittering rainbow gem rested across her neck and just above her bosom. She turned her eyes away before she got too far down and had to excuse herself.

She felt her face getting hotter, and she had to pull her menu up just to hide it. She didn't even read it - she knew what she was getting anyway.

An elbow nudged her in the side. She looked to the offender, and saw Ruby grinning knowingly. Jasper wished she could kick her in the shin, but there was just no way to do it.

Soon, the waiter came around and took orders. Jasper ordered, stuttering a little and earning a cute little giggle from the woman across from her. The safety of the menu was soon removed, and Jasper had to occupy herself with not looking at this woman at all.

Dammit, she told herself, she was supposed to be crushing on Peridot, not wanting to take this stranger home instead. Though, Peridot was in a relationship now, and considering how well she and Lapis were getting along, she doubted it would ever work between them.

She could worry about it later, when this woman wasn't tapping her feet against her shin.

Jasper turned her head to face her. The woman was smiling at her.

Her voice wasn't working, and any attempt to speak felt like trying to start a car in winter. Fortunately, the other woman spoke first, and in a voice like liquid silk, deep and smooth and oh so beautiful.

"Hello."

Jasper's voice felt like it was more akin to a boulder covered in sandpaper. She cleared her throat and spoke a little more normally, though the pounding of her heart in her chest didn't make it any easier.

"H-hey."

"So what's your name?"

"Ja-Jasper. Jasper Brooks." It took her a moment to remember her own name.

"Opal Nguyen-Williams." Opal reached across the table with a hand. "A pleasure."

Jasper shook it. "Same." She stumbled on her words for a bit, then finally came up with a good sentence. "So, what do you do?"

Opal rested her head in one hand, the other idly circling the rim of her glass. "Oh, I teach a little bit of everything. Dance, drama, music, art..." Her eyes moved from the ceiling back to Jasper. "What about you?"

"I do the- I mean, I teach Phys Ed and History, mainly."

"Oh, history?" Opal smiled. "Must be interesting."

"It is," was all Jasper could say in reply.

"I've heard a bit about you from Sugi," she continued, and Jasper felt her smile drop a little at the name drop. "I made sure to remove her bias, of course. But..." she smirked, "...this doesn't leave me much to work with."

Jasper shrugged. "Heh, yeah."

"I'd like to know a little more about you, Jasper."

***

Jasper wasn't sure what Opal was looking to do, but she sure as hell was enjoying it.

It turned out Opal wasn't just talented and pretty, but also quite easy to talk to, even if she tended not to speak as much. By the time they had finished their meal and dessert, she had learned that Opal was East Delmarva's head of art and an experienced teacher, as well as an old friend of Rose and Pearl's. More importantly, she learned that she was born in Australia, but her parents moved to the U.S. before she could pick up an accent. It's why they had named her Opal, too, since it had something to do with opals being common in Australia or something.

Honesly, she was too busy listening to her voice to pick up a lot.

And Jasper had confessed to quite a bit, too. Maybe foolishly, she thought in hindsight, but they were opening up. She managed to leave a lot of it out, but she covered a lot.

She soon found that those around her had been listening in too, but that was hardly a bad thing, really, since most of them were friends.

Finally, the time came to leave. Sugi left quickly, sparing only a short glance at Jasper before she disappeared. Rose and Greg took Steven home since it was close to his bedtime, apparently. Honestly, Jasper didn't really pay much attention.

She stepped outside with Peridot, Lapis and Opal, stretching her muscles from having sat down for so long. A burp escaped her, which prompted another giggle from Opal when she apologised.

Peridot walked towards her car, flicking out her keys from her pocket. "Jasper, you coming?"

Jasper looked up at Opal, one eyebrow raised. "You got anywhere to be?"

Opal smiled knowingly, leaning on one leg with her hands on her hip. "Why do you ask?"

"Figured you might wanna stop by my place for a cup of coffee or something."

"I'd love to," Opal said in reply.

Peridot looked between the two, then sighed. "I'll see you later then, Jasper?"

"Yeah."

Lapis moved up next to Peridot. "We can stay at my place for a bit. Give those two some privacy."

Peridot frowned in thought, then smiled warmly and opened the passenger door. "Sure."

Jasper didn't catch the rest of their conversation. She was already in Opal's car and already a quarter of the way home by the time they had left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all'll have to forgive me for any errors I made in regards to the terminology and methodology around male-to-female transgender stuff. I have little experience with it except for post on Tumblr and the like regarding it. I hope I've done this sort of thing justice, though, but if I got anything wrong, please let me know.
> 
> Also, yes, I did the thing with Jasper and Opal. I'm probably going to write out a smut scene for it, but let me know if you'd like to see it in this story or as a separate piece. Jaspidotters take heart, though, it won't be a permanent thing.
> 
> So yeah, enjoy :) I'll have the next chapter up soon, hopefully.
> 
> [Trivia fact! Opals are the national gemstone of Australia. I am Australian. I like Opal. 'nuff said.]


	5. Lust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH BOI SMUT CHAPTER, TIME TO AVERT YOUR VIEWBALLS IF YOU'RE NOT OLD ENOUGH (or even if you are old enough but don't like smut)
> 
> (Minor edit - got the order wrong on the chapter. Guess that's what happens when you write decimal points for the chapter number ^^;)

"Alright, I'll bite," Jasper said, sipping on her cup of coffee. "Why _do_ your friends call you Hawkeye?"

Opal smiled in return, leaning against the kitchen counter. "I'm really, really good with a bow. Or a slingshot. Or anything like that."

Jasper's brow furrowed slightly. "There's gotta be more to it than that."

Opal shrugged, taking a small, dainty sip of her drink. "I never miss what I aim for."

"Show me."

Opal rolled her eyes, but with a friendly smirk on her lips. Those lovely, lovely lips. "Do you have a rubber band and a pen I could borrow?"

Jasper nodded, searching frantically, but fortunately briefly, for such things. Opal instructed her to rest the pen in a cup across the other side of the room, as far away as possible, and Jasper did so.

Opal gave the rubber band a few test launches, as Jasper watched with no small amount of curiosity. Once Opal seemed satisfied with... whatever it was she was doing, she turned on her heels.

Now that she was standing in front of her in full view, she could see just how magnificent Opal actually was. She was tall and lithe, but not skinny, with beautiful curves to her body which her pale blue dress highlighted perfectly. And she looked fit, too. Not in the musclebound sort of way that Jasper was, more trained for agility and flexibility, like a gymnast combined with a fencer.

And that was to say nothing of her movements. Graceful yet deliberate, every muscle working perfectly in tandem without any unneccessary actions. Jasper wasn't much of an expert in archery or whatever, but she knew that Opal's form was immaculate.

"Watch the pen," Opal whispered.

It took a lot of effort, but Jasper turned her gaze towards the pencil.

_Thwack!_

The rubber band sailed through the air for but a second, but it soon found it's mark, wrapping around the pen and causing it to flip out of the cup and scatter onto the floor.

"Damn," Opal muttered.

"Holy shit." Jasper turned back to Opal. "That was awesome."

"I could've done better if I had more time or, well, a bow," Opal replied, smiling and picking up her cup of coffee again, taking a long sip from it.

"Still though." Jasper grabbed her cup again, testing the temperature before taking a hearty gulp of it. 

The two stood in silence, save the odd little comment, for a while. Jasper both enjoying her warm drink and the company of the archer. She soon finished her drink and placed the cup next to the sink to wash later.

"So, what now?" Jasper asked. Opal didn't reply quickly, probably due to her finishing her drink.

When Jasper felt a pair of arms wrap around her torso, however, she knew that was not the case. She tensed up, face burning at the contact.

Opal continued to say nothing, but gently ushered Jasper around until they were facing each other. With her hands moving around to behind her neck, she smiled and locked her gaze right with Jasper's.

Jasper tried to think of something to say, but her brain just wasn't working. And even if she did, she soon felt Opal's lips connect with her own, kissing her slowly. When the initial, brief shock waned, Jasper returned the gesture, her hands moving to rest on Opal's hips, thumbs subconsciously tracing small circles on the fabric of her dress.

Their smooching slowly built up, both of them equally pushing further, as their arms caressed each other. Jasper's face was now hot enough to cook bacon on it, excitement rushing along her whole body as Opal showered her with attention.

Opal pulled away, leaving Jasper's lips feeling cold and empty. She wanted more. The other woman simply smiled, moving her mouth further down and to the right, and within moments Jasper felt Opal's lips on her neck.

A rasping breath escaped her lips, her eyes squeezing shut as she tilted her head to give Opal more room to work with, and work with it Opal did, leaving no inch unattended.

What felt like a whole hour later, Opal pulled her mouth away. "Your room?"

***

The moment the door shut, Opal and Jasper were on top of each other, kissing, rubbing and groping each other in wild abandon. Jasper swore that Opal had four arms or something, it was just that good.

They found their way to the bed, Jasper already having shed her jacket and Opal's dress having been pushed past her shoulders. Jasper's hand was already on Opal's breast while Opal continued her attention on her neck, even including the occasional nibble which shot a bolt of excitement down her spine.

One of Opal's hands moved down her body, slowly, stopping for a minute to fiddle with Jasper's shirt and give one of her nipples some much-needed and much-appreciated tweaking.

Opal stopped suddenly, though. Jasper knew what was wrong.

"Oh," Jasper breathed wordlessly. "I forgot to tell you, I have a-"

"I don't mind," Opal said, softly, kissing Jasper's neck again.

Jasper sighed with relief, muttering a 'thank fuck'. She gasped, though, when she felt the pressure on her pants disappear, a rush of cold air, and then a warm, soft hand grasp onto her, moving up and down ever so slowly.

She felt Opal smile as she pulled her head away from her neck. Jasper fumbled with her shirt and then her bra, discarding them before Opal's mouth returned to her body, this time around one of her nipples, sucking and licking firmly.

Jasper wasn't usually fond of having this sort of attention given to her - she liked being the dom. But god _dammit_ , Opal was just too good at this. She knew exactly the right buttons to press to get Jasper excited, and was pressing the shit out of them.

Opal spent quite a long while on her bosom, switching between breasts, her free hand caressing the one not occupied by her mouth. Once done, Opal moved further down her body, a finger tracing an invisible line from chest to crotch. Jasper pulled herself up to get a better look, and dear god was the sight worth it.

Opal situated herself between Jasper's legs, one of her hands supporting her body while the other continued to stroke her. Their eyes met, Opal's hooded over to match that oh-so-enticing smirk.

"Are you enjoying this, Jasper?" Opal asked, barely above a whisper. The way she had emphasised her name was just... perfect.

Jasper nodded, biting her lower lip. "Y-yeah..."

Opal's grin grew for a moment, before she adjusted herself a little. The next thing Jasper felt was something warm, soft and wet wrap around the head, and she gasped, stuttering wordlessly.

It had been so long since she had someone do this. Normally, it felt... weird. But Opal knew what she was doing, and she knew how to do it well. Her tongue danced around, sliding along everything it could, as her head bobbed up and down. When Jasper managed to look down at her, the sight of her lips wrapped around her, not to mention the fact she was looking right at her, sent a shiver down her spine.

A mere few minutes later, she knew she was getting close. But she wasn't over the edge just yet. She just needed another push.

And soon, that push came. The hand on her shaft slipped down between her legs. A finger gently prodded her rear, and with a quick little lubrication from the moisture around Opal's lips, soon slid inside her.

That was enough. Jasper's vision swam and all sense of her world disappeared. Her hands clenched down on the bed as she screamed, ecstacy riding up from between her legs all the way into the back of Opal's mouth which, she felt, was now around the entire shaft.

She didn't know how long it had lasted, but she soon found herself falling back into herself, gasping for breath as her body trembled from the sheer pleasure of it all. She limply pressed a hand to her forehead, as she felt Opal pull herself away, leaving her feeling a little colder and emptier than before. Opal gulped, then with a demure little chuckle slid herself up next to Jasper, a leg and an arm resting over her.

"Fuck me..." Jasper gasped.

"Later,' Opal replied with a grin. "How did you like it?"

Jasper couldn't put it into elaborate words, so simply replied 'good' and gave Opal a small kiss on the lips, which unsurprisingly became something much more vigorous later.

Opal pulled away, then lay beside Jasper. "Your turn."

"Gimme a moment," Jasper muttered, pulling herself up over Opal. Opal looked up to her, framed not only by her own hair but also by Jasper's. "Can I undo your hair?"

"Why?"

"I love loose hair on girls."

Opal giggled, then nodded. "Just be gentle, please."

Jasper nodded, reaching back with one hand to undo whatever was bringing Opal's hair into a ponytail, placing it on the bedside desk. She also reached for the ones to her side, too, and soon Opal's hair was entirely loose, a more expertly-maintained mirror of Jasper's.

"Holy shit..." Jasper muttered. "You're beautiful..."

"Thank you," Opal replied, leaning up to give her a small kiss on the lips again.

Jasper felt like her actions were much clumsier than Opal's, but if Opal's expressions and heavy breath was anything to go by, she was enjoying it. Jasper kissed and nibbled on Opal's neck, restraining herself from getting too eager, as a hand gave her bosom a little bit of attention too.

Opal barely spoke, or in fact made very little noise, but Jasper could tell she was doing a good job so far. Ever so slowly, she moved her mouth down Opal's gorgeous body, dotting it with small kisses, until she finally reached her prize.

Opal's gaze moved down with her, and upon seeing where Jasper ended up, she smiled, sitting up and spreading her legs wider to accomodate. Jasper needed no more invitation, as she leaned right into Opal's crotch and let her tongue and mouth go wild.

It was messy at first, but soon Jasper remembered what she was doing. Opal still didn't speak, but she began to moan, louder and louder the more she went. Jasper didn't want to stop, and although the taste was a little weird to begin with, she got used to it and in fact craved more.

"J-Jasper..."

Jasper looked up, slowing down only a little. Opal returned the gaze, hair untamed and chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Finger me, please..."

As much as she was enjoying seeing the results of her silver tongue, Jasper nevertheless did what Opal requested, pulling herself up and beside Opal, letting a fingertip run across Opal's labia.

Opal looked down with surprise, and Jasper's gaze followed too. She kept forgetting how large her fingers actually were until she saw them in contact with someone else.

She looked back to Opal, smirking as she let a finger slide inside of her without much hassle. Opal was already gushing so much, but Jasper swore she got even damper. Opal's eyes widened, then closed as she suppressed a moan.

Jasper didn't relent, sliding her finger in and out of Opal's nethers as she moaned and gasped. She was tight, and she got tighter the faster and harder Jasper went. A slender arm wrapped around her neck, lowering Jasper down closer to her. Their lips connected, but only for a little while as Jasper moved her mouth down to Opal's neck.

Jasper couldn't help it. She opened her mouth and bit down firmly, and she felt Opal's breath hitch. Opal moaned directly into her ear, her other arm moving to rest on Jasper's shoulder. Jasper upped the ante, not only moving faster but also sliding another finger into her, and Opal's moans rose.

"J-Jasper, I'm... I'm going to..." Opal breathed between moans and gasps, her grip on Jasper's body and her fingers tightening, pressing Jasper right up to her. Jasper closed her eyes, mouth moving to another, untouched spot to bite down on.

Opal soon hit her peak, screaming as her entire body convulsed under Jasper, curling up closer to the larger woman, shuddering and moaning as she came down from her orgasm. Jasper held her finger in as deep as she could get it, her other arm cradling Opal's neck, her face moving from her shoulder to rest in front of the other's.

Still riding her climax out, Opal opened her eyes, her gaze locking right with Jasper's, half-lidded. A tinge of crimson spread all over her cheeks as her breath slowly returned to normal.

Never had Jasper ever thought anyone could look so beautiful as she thought Opal did now. She leaned in and gave the woman beside her a long, slow, drawn-out kiss, to which Opal replied in earnest.

Opal parted from the kiss, one of her hands moving up to Jasper's cheek, stroking it gently. "That was impressive."

Jasper found herself smiling as she nodded. "I'm pretty good with my hands."

"Apparently."

"Sorry if I was a little rough near the end."

"It's fine," Opal said, patting Jasper on the cheek. "It was perfectly timed."

Jasper sighed with relief.

Opal remained silent for a while, as usual, only making a noise when she rolled over to her back, Jasper moving over beside her, arm draped over her body.

"Do you mind," Opal said, "if I stay here for the night?"

Jasper shrugged. "I don't mind."

Now that she was no longer in the throes of pleasure, Jasper felt... guilty? She didn't know why, but she felt like doing... this... was somehow bad.

She looked up at Opal, who was occupied with playing with a string of Jasper's hair, and the guilty feeling melted away like snow on a sunny day.

"Hey, Opal?"

"Hm?"

"Do you... wanna do this again some time?"

Opal's brow furrowed in thought for a brief moment, before she nodded. "Certainly. In fact..." she smiled, stroking Jasper's hair. "How about we make this a regular sort of thing?"

Jasper agreed after only a few seconds of thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written smut in years, excluding RPs with friends. But damn, it's fun, especially when you get into it.
> 
> For those of you who like Jasper/Opal, don't worry, there'll be a couple more chapters of this. For those of you who don't, don't worry, there'll _only_ be a couple more chapters of this. But hey, I thought it'd make an interesting direction for the story if I included it, at least briefly. I'll elaborate more on the nature of their relationship in the following 'proper' chapter.
> 
> The next chapter should be out in about four hours time or, failing that, some time tomorrow. Depends on how much I get done.


	6. Winter, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bloody hell it's been a while since I've written anything. But here, a chapter for you, after far too long of not getting anything out.
> 
> Heavy themes ahead, might be uncomfortable for some readers.

_Term 2, Week 8  
Monday, 3:10 PM_

Jasper was cold, she was wet and she was muddy. By all accounts, she should be miserable, but she wasn't. It helped she was moving and keeping herself as warm as she could, staving off the chill of the winter rain through exercise, but something else kept her going and made her push forward.

Opal.

Ever since that night a few weeks ago, she and Opal had been steadily seeing each other, sometimes at Jasper's place, sometimes at hers. Jasper much preferred going to Opal's, if anything to escape the incessant snide looks that Peridot kept giving her. Not to mention Lapis' insufferable grin.

Damn, but Opal was magnificent. Not just in bed - that helped - but she was a fantastic cook, she was athletic, she was funny, she was elegant... there wasn't anything about her that she didn't like, at least as much as Jasper knew about her. Perhaps the most annoying thing about her was just how alluring she was, and how easily Jasper let herself be swayed by her, but that was about it.

When she found a moment to catch her breath, she checked her phone for the time, wiping the muddy smear from the screen as well. It was just about time to wrap up. She slipped her phone away into her pocket, then clapped her hands together.

"Alright, guys, that's all for today! Get yourselves showered and cleaned up!" she shouted over the rain, as the students took the opportunity to scramble back under shelter. Jasper took her time, too, deciding it would be better for her to shower after the students had gone.

Once that was done, and the school wrapped up for the day, Jasper siezed that opportunity and got herself cleaned up, thankful for the warm water.

Of course, it was the perfect time for her to recieve a phone call. She bemoaned her luck, and once finished in the shower she grabbed her towel, then her phone.

She was hoping it was Opal. She needed to hear her voice.

Unfortunately, it wasn't her, but Sugi.

Groaning, she reluctantly tapped the call icon and moved the phone to her ear, supporting it with her shoulder as she dried herself off.

"Sugi Maharaj," came the deep, raspy voice of the tank of a woman. Jasper had to supress a sigh of annoyance.

"Hey, Sugi, sorry I missed your call, was in the shower. What do you want?" Jasper kept herself professional. She and Sugi weren't anywhere close to friends.

"Just checking to see if you remembered the football match coming up this Thursday." A small, smug chuckle. "Don't want you to miss this one because of a sniffle."

_Of course she was calling just to taunt_ , Jasper thought. "Funny, I was just about to remind you. I mean, given your track record..."

"Ha! Funny," Sugi responded. "See you there."

The call ended just as Jasper thought of a brilliant retort.

* * *

Something was wrong.

Jasper never claimed to know how people worked, but she was good at reading them. And she could tell that something was wrong with Lapis and Peridot.

The two of them weren't looking at each other, and while they were sitting next to each other, they weren't that close. Lapis was sipping on a cup of coffee, while Peridot was likely playing something on her phone.

Jasper downed the last of her own coffee - wincing at the taste - and left the mug next to the sink. She took a spot opposite those two, pulling up her phone to send a quick text to Opal - she was probably finishing up for the day. Was Jasper being too clingy by sending a text at the end of every day? Hopefully not, she thought.

She looked between Lapis and Peridot, then cleared her throat a little. "Rough day?"

"Yeah," Lapis responded, without even turning to face her. Peridot just shrugged, eyes locked onto her screen.

"You... guys want to tell me about it?" Jasper ventured.

"Not right now," came Lapis' languid response. Peridot didn't even say anything or make any small gesture.

This was frustrating. Obviously something was wrong between them, and while she wanted desperately to butt in and tell them to get the hell over it, she couldn't.

After a few moments, she stood herself up. "I'm gonna get the bus back home."

"I can drive you," Peridot replied. Lapis shot her a subtle glare. "Besides, it's raining."

"Thanks for the offer, but-" _obviously you two need to get whatever's pissing you off off your chest before one of us has to clean up the mess_ "-the rain never bothered me."

"If you say so."

Jasper sighed, then grabbed her stuff and walked out. She couldn't deal with this shit.

* * *

_Term 2, Week 8  
Wednesday, 6:00 PM_

"God damn it, Opal, this is amazing!" Jasper said, burping a little at the end. "Excuse me."

"It's alright," Opal replied, smiling oh-so-wonderfully. She had invited not only Jasper, but Lapis and Peridot to the dinner as well. Jasper had expected the car ride to be awkward and full of hidden hostility, but no, it seems like whatever had been annoying them had been resolved, and the two were talking happily again. Which Jasper was thankful for, because it was the last thing she needed before facing off against Sugi.

"How did you learn to cook like this?" Lapis asked, softly, as if in awe of Opal's cooking prowess.

"Lots of practice, dedication, and maybe a few burnt meals along the way." Opal giggled. "If you're interested, I could teach you a few things over the next coming school holiday."

"Nah, I've never been good at cooking. Mixing drinks? Yeah, I can do that. But I can't cook to save my life."

Jasper chuckled. "You should try one of Lapis' famous cocktails one day. They're great."

"Remind me to do so," Opal said, giving a small grin to Lapis.

"Well, if you want me to see what you've got here..." Lapis said, eyes moving to the direction of the kitchen. Jasper held up her hand.

"Not tonight. I've got that match going on tomorrow." Lapis looked almost disappointed. "This weekend, maybe? As a celebration? Or maybe something to help dilute the memory of having lost to Sugi."

Lapis and Opal agreed. Lapis turned to Peridot, tapping her on the shoulder, snapping the smaller woman out of her reverie.

"Got anything going on Saturday?"

Peridot shrugged. "Not sure, but Sunday I won't be. I've got a doctor's appointment."

"What for?" Jasper asked, earning a mildly irritated glare from Opal. That stung.

Peridot shrugged again. "My arm's been feeling a bit sore recently. Going to see about getting some lotion to help with it."

Jasper nodded. Then, after a moment's thought, apologised for just asking out of nowhere. Peridot waved it off.

"It's fine, really." Peridot shrugged, grabbing another bite of her meal with her fork. "I mean, you do live with me. If I had something infectious, you'd want to know about it, right?"

"Anyway," Lapis said, taking the moment to butt in. "Want to come over to my place on Saturday? I'll be making drinks."

Peridot thought about it for a moment. "Sure."

"Great!"

* * *

Great.

Three messages from Sugi. Jasper didn't feel like dealing with that at the moment, and tossed her phone onto the stool next to her armchair. Peridot and Lapis were cuddled up on the couch, watching some sort of movie on Netflix. Looking at the two of them, she was sure they were university students. But, of course, Jasper could hardly complain, as she sat in her chair with a sandwich and dressed in nothing but shorts and a singlet.

Just because you had a job, paid your taxes and taught classes at a high school didn't mean you had to act like it when around your friends.

She was also surprised at how much she wanted to beat Sugi. Even though it was all down to the students, the weather and a whole lot of other little factors, she wanted to do nothing more than get into the game and play with her team, take Sugi's pride down personally. She couldn't, of course, but damn, it would be satisfying.

Maybe she was taking it too personally. This was simply a match against their two schools, and they were the coaches. The could only encourage and motivate their teams, provide them tactics, and watch them play for themselves. It was kind of like a video game, except that people actually got hurt.

And, as she was sure Peridot would say, the coding was better.

Boredom finally struck her, hard, and she pulled her phone out to have a look at those messages. One was a seemingly-legitimate (if not poorly written) text reminding her about the game; the second, a taunt; the third, a complaint about her not picking her phone up.

Jasper typed out a quick message about how she knew and that she was ready, then again put her phone aside to watch the movie. It was... well, it was okay. Obviously Peridot and Lapis weren't watching it too closely, as they were too busy cuddling together and just generally being adorable, if not a little too affectionate.

With a grunt, Jasper pulled herself up. "Gonna have a shower and head to bed. You two going to be here when I'm done?"

"I might drive Lapis home soon," Peridot murmured. "It's getting late."

Lapis nodded, yawning as well.

"Oh, I'd better ask, will you two be coming to the game tomorrow?"

"We've both got work, Jasper," Peridot commented. "I might be able to arrange something, but don't count on it."

"Lapis?"

"I've got a full plate in the afternoon, sorry."

Jasper frowned, but shrugged. "Hey, if you guys are busy, then you're busy, I get it. Anyway, I'll see you two later."

* * *

_Term 2, Week 8  
Thursday, 1:00 PM_

It wasn't raining during the match, which Jasper was happy about. But it had been pouring almost the entire week before, and she was sinking a quarter-inch into the muddy ground. Not to mention the skies were clouded over 

Peridot and Lapis hadn't shown up, but Jasper didn't mind so much. She had Ruby, tiny and eternally burning with energy that she was, standing next to her, shouting encouragement to their team, while across the other side of the field, was Opal, who occasionally waved and smiled at her when she wasn't helping her own students.

Beach City High was currently in the lead, but East Delmarva was going strong and coming back. Sugi, like an imposing giant of fury, was bellowing at her students and shouting like the crowd observing. Sure, this might not be a big, fancy game, but this was a semi-final for the regional championships and was kind of a big deal.

Quarter-time came out of nowhere, and the teams ran back to get freshened up. Jasper turned to the team and put on her biggest smile.

"Alright, this is it, the last quarter," Jasper said, loud enough for all the team to hear but not the crowd or her opponents. "Keep them off the ball, keep the formations loose and flexible, and don't let them do anything tricky." 

She turned to the reserve players, gesturing to a couple of students, one of which included the obviously-reluctant Steven. "Universe, Rodriguez, McKinnon, you're up. Do us proud."

She let Ruby handle the initial tactical stuff, though corrected a few glaring errors here and there - to be fair, she would probably make the same mistakes. She was feeling confident in her team, though a little sorry for poor Steven. The kid wasn't the fittest of her class, wasn't particularly aggressive and obviously didn't want to play. Jasper would have let him stay on the side and watch, if she could. The last thing she wanted was for Steven to hurt himself.

Especially since his mother was watching from directly across her. She chuckled as she wondered if Rose was conflicted about whether to cheer for East Delmarva, or her son on the opposing team.

She turned back to the team, and noticed that the aformentioned kid was looking nervous. She kneeled down next to him and patted him on the back.

"You've got this, kid."

"You really think so?" Steven asked, looking up with big, worried eyes.

"Sure," Jasper replied. She wasn't how sure she was about how well he'd do. "If you're anything like your mother, you're a brave kid."

Steven looked up at Jasper, then nodded, smiling with an unmistakably Rose-like determination. The players then rushed back to the field, as Jasper picked herself back up and brushed her knees of the mud.

Ruby looked up to her. "Ready to rub it in Sugi's face?"

"You know it."

Not half of the way through that last quarter, though, that's when doubt hit her. East Delmarva were playing hard and breaking through defenses like they weren't even there, and when they went into defensive play? Not a chance.

By the last kickoff, the scores were tied. Jasper's heart nearly burst out of her chest and joined in her encouraging shouts. The ball was kicked, and, in an almost-cliche fashion, the ball kept exchanging hands and going all over the side.

Scant few seconds into the game, and one of her students caught the ball and sprinted like mad. Steven, on the opposite side, ran as fast as he could, eyes darting between the ball and the back line.

The student threw the ball towards Steven. The kid held his arms out, ready to catch it.

Most everyone was looking at the ball. Jasper was watching everything.

And she saw some lanky kid stick his foot out and trip Steven over, causing him to go tumbling, spiralling and sliding into the nearest solid object - the goalpost. Thank god he was wearing a helmet.

Jasper watched in horror as the ball found it's way unnaturally quickly to the other side, but almost nobody except Rose reacted to Steven's collision. To be fair, he did stand up and, while staggering a little, he seemed more or less okay.

And that gangly bastard was smiling smugly.

The game was called. East Delmarva won.

Jasper knew it would get her in trouble, but she couldn't stand it. She stomped forward, grabbing the referee. "Hey, what the hell?"

"What?" The referee pushed Jasper's hand off him shoulder.

"Didn't you see that trip?"

"What are you-"

Jasper growled, gesturing to Steven and the tall kid. "That tall kid deliberately tripped over Steven!"

Sugi, of course, picked that perfect time to walk over. "Tripping ain't a foul, Jasper."

Jasper turned right round to her, glaring. "You know damn well it is!"

"Not according to NHSF rules-" Sugi started, glaring down at Jasper.

"Don't get all smart with me, Sugi, you know that kid tripped Steven over deliberately!"

Sugi laughed, slapping her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Are you even listening to yourself?! I just said tripping ain't a foul! Besides, it was an accident, those things happen!"

"He was standing perfectly still! He had his leg stuck out! It was deliberate!" Jasper knew she was making a fool of herself, but she didn't care.

Sugi crossed her arms, peeking over her sunglasses. "You calling me a liar, Jas?"

"I'm calling you stupid for not noticing your team intentionally breaking the rules-"

Sugi's smarmy grin faded. "It. Ain't. Against. The rules."

The referee took this moment to chip in. "She's right, unfortunately."

Sugi's insufferable, toothy grin returned. "See? Stop getting your panties in a twist, Jas." And with that, she turned away and walked back to congratulate her team.

Jasper looked to the side. Rose was right next to Steven, checking him to make sure she was okay. Opal was by her side, looking over at Jasper and Sugi with concern.

Jasper glared at Sugi from behind. "Real sportsmanlike, Sugi, just walking away to congratulate everyone on a cheap tactic."

Sugi paused, turning her head slightly. "What?"

The flames of fury were being fanned, and she swore she was almost steaming at this point. "You just let one of your kids deliberately risk serious injury to your boss' kid, and not only do you not give a shit, but hell, you're probably gonna get everyone pizzas now!" She clapped, as sarcastically as one could clap. "Great damn job."

Sugi turned back, pushing her sunglasses back up with a hand as she walked over. "What are you getting at, fuzzball?"

"What I'm saying is," Jasper retorted, "is that you're too much of a cheap coward to do anything fairly."

"Jasper, I wouldn't-" Ruby, from out of nowhere, started, only for Jasper to hold her hand in her direction.

Sugi's lips curled up. "You saying it was my fault that wimp got hurt?"

"Oh, no no no no. I'm saying it's your fault you let it happen in the first place. Thought you were smarter than that."

Sugi's fist clenched. Jasper knew what was coming if she continued, but fuck it.

"Watch what you're saying, Jasper."

Jasper let a short laugh out. "What? Scared of fighting a little girl?"

Sugi's fist came out of fucking nowhere and right in the side of the face, causing her to stagger.

"We both know you ain't no girl."

It was at this moment, Jasper's reason took a back-seat. She was almost watching herself, as she found her body launching into Sugi with unrestrained fury, fist and nail striking Sugi's bare flesh with no coordination or logic. 

Simply raw fury.

Her anger subsided enough for her to gain some level of control back, though she was still pissed. Sugi was taking a step back, clutching onto her arm as she saw a drop of crimson between her fingertips.

"You fucking scratched me! What the fuck?!"

Jasper dropped herself into stance. "Take that back."

Sugi didn't. She only responded with her fists. Now that Jasper was ready, she could easily weave and dodge around Sugi's attacks. Occasionally, she would strike back, but it was like punching a wall - it might buckle a little, but you'd need a wrecking ball to break through it.

Jasper sent a left-hook into Sugi's head, knocking her sunglasses clean off her face and into the mud. Sugi turned back to Jasper, her ugly mug now in full view. If Jasper wasn't so furious, she'd be terrified.

Who knew that Sugi's sunglasses held her back? Suddenly she was moving faster, and Jasper had to actually keep on her toes.

"Hold still, you fucker!" Sugi bellowed. Jasper said nothing, but blocked a punch and countered with her own right into Sugi's stomach.

Sugi took a couple of steps back, gasping as she clutched her stomach. Jasper took a few steps forward, raised her arm, and was about to send it crashing down...

Until her world became a blur of pink and white, and she was suddenly on her back on the ground, her head spinning like mad.

"That's enough!" came a stern voice. It took Jasper to realise it was Rose, and that the huge woman in the cumbersome dress had just thrown her to the ground like a professional martial artist. And, as she heard another splotch, probably did the same to Sugi. "Both of you!"

Jasper pulled herself up a little, supporting her weight on her elbows. Rose was standing between the two of them, arms crossed, glaring down at them.

"I know you two have it out for each other, and I know what happened. But if you two keep fighting like this, I'm going to have to bring this up with the authorities."

"She-"  
"But she-"

"Have I made myself clear?!" Rose shouted, though from the look she gave afterwards, she seemed to regret it.

Jasper, pulling herself up and brushing herself off, spoke first. "Crystal."

Sugi took longer to rise, looking far more exhausted than she thought she could be. "Gotcha. I'm outta here." As she walked off, she made a few rude comments, but Jasper decided not to follow up on any of them. 

Instead, she moved over to Rose.

"How's Steven?"

"Greg's taking him to get checked out, but he should be fine," Rose commented, quietly. Then, her stern look returned. "I'm going to have to tell Xanthe about this."

Jasper wanted to object, but she was drained. All she wanted to do was sleep. "I understand."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm... thankful that you were so defensive about what happened to Steven, but..." Rose paused, trying to find the right words. "...I would prefer if you didn't let your emotions get the better of you." 

Jasper held up her hand to say something, but Rose continued. "I know she said some horrible things, Jasper. But you did spur her on. You're both in the wrong, as much as I hate to admit it. I'll let Xanthe decide what's best for you."

Jasper nodded. "Understood."

The motherly look returned to Rose's expression. "Go get some rest, Jasper. Get some ice on those bruises."

Rose left. In her stead Opal walked up, her expression... unreadable. But it wasn't exactly a happy one. Concern? Annoyance?

"Come on, Jasper, I'll take you home." Opal said, leading her by the hand.

Jasper was now glad that Lapis and Peridot hadn't come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like the end was a bit rushed, but oh well, at least I'm glad I got some stuff out.
> 
> I'll be writing semi-regularly from now on. I've got two more fics in mind, but I'm gonna be tenacious and finish this.
> 
> Thank you all for being patient with me, and I hope you enjoyed the read!


	7. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got this knocked out in one day, including dinner breaks. It might be a bit rushed at points, but I think it's of suitable quality to submit.

_Term 2, Week 8  
Thursday, 3:00 PM_

"Jasper, what were you thinking?" Opal asked, her eyes locked onto the road as she drove along. Jasper sighed, leaning on her elbow as she watched the start of the afternoon shower drip down the car window, only barely registering Opal's comment. She didn't want to talk, she only wanted to sleep.

Opal continued, regardless, concern laden in her voice. "You could have been hurt more than you already have. Why did you have to go and pick a fight with Sugi?"

"Because," Jasper started, clearing her throat, "she's a piece of shit."

Opal sighed softly, her fingers lifting up in a gesture of exasperation. "Sure, she's unpredictable and violent, but did you have to provoke her like that?"

"She deserved what was coming to her."

"Jasper..." Opal began, then paused. Jasper could tell she was trying to find the right start. "Why... why do you and Sugi hate each other so much?"

Jasper remained silent for a while. She really didn't want to talk about it, but...

"We used to be in the army together," Jasper croaked. "All through training, we both tried to out-do each other. Got into a hell of a lot of trouble with the sergeant, and a few fist fights too."

"And you just happen to be working in rival schools," Opal postulated. Jasper let a mirthless, short chuckle out.

"Yeah, pretty much. She doesn't like me, I don't like her, simple at that. We've been kind of friendly rivals for the past little while, but today was just..."

Opal was quiet for a while. Maybe she was waiting for Jasper to continue, maybe she was trying to think of the right things to say. Finally, she spoke again.

"Please, Jasper. I know you and Sugi don't get on well, but for all our sake's, you shouldn't go picking fights with her. What if she broke your arm or leg, or worse?"

Jasper opened her mouth to reply, but no words came to mind. Opal really did have a good point there.

"I care about you, Jasper. And I'm worried about you. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt because of a game of football."

Jasper just wanted to go home.

* * *

Jasper heard the door click open, but she didn't move. Rhythmic footsteps walked over to her, and a Peridot-shaped shadow was cast over her.

"Judging by the fact you have a beer in one hand and you're splayed all over the couch..." Peridot began, eyes tracing all over Jasper, "...I take it you had a rough day, then?"

Jasper shrugged, angling her head to avoid looking at any bright lights.

Peridot sighed, kneeling down next to Jasper. "And by the looks of it, you've been injured too..." The smaller woman was mostly talking to herself now, as Jasper just ignored her. "Might need to put some ice on those bruises. I'll grab some ice-packs from the kitchen."

"I'll be fine," Jasper finally said. "Just get me another beer."

Peridot shook her head. "Don't be stubborn, you're not impressing anyone. I'm going to get you an ice-pack."

 _Harsh, Peri,_ Jasper mused to herself, slurping up the remaining contents of the can in her hand before crushing it and tossing it aside. Peridot returned after a moment, and put something freezing onto the side of Jasper's face, causing her to gasp and flinch.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Jasper frowned, shutting her eyes as she let a hand move to hold the pack in place. "I got in a fight with Sugi."

"Of course you did..." Peridot muttered. "What did she, or you, do?"

"She let some kid get away with potentially hospitalising one of my students."

"And you thought it would be a good idea to fight her instead of going to the school board and bringing that up?"

Jasper rolled her eyes to face Peridot. She looked half-concerned, half-annoyed. Then again, her expression seemed to remain stagnant half the time. "I don't like going through that shit."

Peridot sighed, then stood up, walking to where the discarded can lay. "Jasper, there's a reason we have a system like this, and why nearly every event is recorded, and we have a school board in the first place." She then paced over to the rubbish bin, dropping the can into it. "It's so we don't have people deal with these things personally and risk causing even more harm than is needed."

Jasper scoffed. "Sugi had it coming."

"Did it ever occur to you that you and Sugi could both be fired for this?" Peridot asked, walking back to Jasper's side after grabbing a chair from the kitchen and sitting by her side. "I might not know anything about how sports works, or any of this, but I know that by going ahead and, I presume punching, Sugi rather than dealing with it appropriately, you would have been better off?"

Jasper slowly pulled herself up. "Do you have any idea what she said to me? She said I wasn't even a girl!"

Peridot paused, blinking in surprise for a moment, but then shook her head. "Jasper, don't punch me for saying this, but you're not a girl."

Jasper really wanted to punch Peridot.

"You're a woman. A grown, adult woman."

...what?

Peridot stood up, crossing her arms and looking down at Jasper. "You can't just go and punch anyone who insults you, or even anyone who you think might have insulted you. You don't get anywhere in life by acting like a spoilt, immature brat who wants everything in the world to go that way."

"I didn't say-"

"I don't care!" Peridot interrupted, throwing her hands out to her sides. "Do you think I go around, punching everyone who insults me for my prosthetic arms or my diminutive stature? No, of course I don't! You can't just deal with every problem by hitting it or running from it!"

Jasper stood up, ignoring the dizzy feeling from it. "When have I ever run away?!"

"When you saw me kissing Lapis!"

Jasper felt her entire body freeze up. Peridot paused for only a moment before continuing.

"Lapis knew something was off when you left us on Halloween. It's only after a while we both realised why."

"You... knew I had a-"

"Yes, I did."

Jasper took a deep breath in. Then, frowning, she pointed an accusatory finger at Peridot. "If you knew, why did you get with Lapis?!"

"One, stop shouting. Two, I only realised after I was with her. And three..." Peridot took a moment, squinting a little in thought. "It wasn't reciprocal."

Jasper felt her fists clench. "You mean you didn't tell me how you felt after you found out...?"

Peridot pointed to Jasper's hands. "Your fists are clenching, your breath is shaky and you look like you're ready to punch me. Jasper, I was scared to tell you because you would've reacted badly."

"I wouldn't-"

"How the hell am I supposed to know that, especially after hearing you started beating someone up because you thought they actively knew that their team was doing something amoral?" Peridot poked Jasper in the chest. "You keep making assumptions and taking them in as truth, and anytime something or someone comes along that challenges that, you get violent or you just drop them to the side. And you stay angry until you can't keep it up."

Jasper felt her stomach drop. Peridot's ice-cold glare was drilling right into her eyes.

"You need to stop letting your anger and fear rule you, you need to grow up a little bit and stop acting like the whole world is against you."

She then turned on her heal and walked off. Jasper remained still, her breathing getting heavier. Peridot's footsteps stopped, and she heard the rustling of clothes as she turned.

"You're a good person Jasper. I'm just disappointed you're not living up to that potential."

Peridot continued walking. Once she shut the door to her room, Jasper collapsed back on the couch, buried her face in her hands, and let her anger give way to anguish.

* * *

Jasper had decided to call in sick for the day. As much as Xanthe didn't seem to agree with it, it was allowed - Jasper feared she knew what had happened and was letting her recover before being punished. Rather than exercising, or eating, or doing anything that would help her theoretically get better, she decided to just lie in bed and stare at the ceiling.

Maybe Peridot was right. Maybe Sugi didn't mean to insult her, and maybe Sugi genuinely didn't know that this lanky kid had done it deliberately. Maybe Jasper was really letting her long-built hatred of Sugi get the better of her. Maybe she was a lot more immature than she thought.

Jasper lazily poked the side of her face. It still hurt, but it was at least just a bruise. She let her hand flop lazily down.

What still shocked her the most about Peridot's rant was the fact that she _knew_ about her crush. Well, she wouldn't be surprised if Lapis knew first and had told Peridot about it. That would explain a bit, since Peridot never struck her as the person-understanding type.

Jasper half-heartedly lifted a hand up into her vision, looking over it, at the contours and lines and colours with absentminded curiosity. If Lapis had known she had a crush on Peridot, why didn't she do anything to help? Did she just want to make Jasper jealous and make a fool of herself?

No, she thought, that wasn't like Lapis. Lapis might be prone to the occasional moment of vindication, but she wasn't that petty. Maybe she was interested in Peridot herself and took the same opportunity as Jasper was going to have. Or maybe Peridot was the one who started it, and Lapis just went with the flow.

As much as Jasper wanted to find a reason to stay mad, she remembered Peridot's rant last night. She had to be more mature than that.

Jasper's phone rang. She held it up. It was Opal, thank god.

She activated the call, and croakily answered. "Hey, Opal."

"Hello Jasper. I'm just calling to check up on you. How are you feeling?"

Tired. Emotionally drained. Looking for any excuse to go and punch someone. "Sore, I guess. But better now."

"Well, that's good to hear." A brief pause. "I probably shouldn't be gossiping, but... you'll probably be happy to know that Sugi has been suspended from all extra-curricular activities until later. Rose was, apparently, very annoyed with how much she wasn't paying attention to her players."

"And what about the kid who hurt Steven?"

"Suspended."

"Any word on how Steven's doing?"

"Unfortunately I haven't heard anything, but considering Rose is only looking mildly worried, it's probably nothing too serious."

That was a weight of Jasper's mind. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be teaching?"

"It's raining heavily down here, so the whole class is inside watching a movie."

Jasper chuckled. "Good times."

"Oh!" Opal gasped. "That reminds me. I'll be heading out tonight. You're more than welcome to come with me. I've got a friend who wants to meet you."

Jasper looked around, then shrugged. Then mentally slapped her forehead, realising how Opal couldn't see the shrug. "Yeah, sure, I guess so. You'll have to come pick me up though."

"That's easily arranged. Alright, I have to get back to class, but I'll see you tonight. Take care, have a good one."

"See you later, Opal. Love you."

"Love you too." Click. Beeeeeep.

 _Have a good one_ , Jasper thought with a chuckle. _What a weird phrase._

* * *

"You know, Opal," Jasper said, hands in her pockets to protect them from the snow outside, "I never took you for a nightclub kind of person."

Opal giggled softly as she elegantly strided forth. "I have been known to frequent a few clubs here and there every so often."

"Let's just get inside before we freeze to death, okay?" Jasper commented with a smirk, quickly showing her ID to the bouncer before being let in. Opal followed suit, but seemed not to need her ID.

Once inside, the heavy beats of the song started to thump right into Jasper's chest, the various humours in her body vibrating to the music. Jasper hadn't been in a club for so long, but already she felt comfortable. Opal stepped to her side, and, grabbing her hand, directed her further into the club.

She was lead to a relatively quiet spot near the bar, and was ordered a drink - rum and cola, just what Jasper wanted. Jasper took a seat across from Opal, leaning back on the chair. With a grin, she held out her glass, and Opal tapped hers against it.

"Man, it's been years since I've been here," Jasper half-shouted. "It's changed a lot."

Opal smiled and nodded in agreement. "It got refurbished a couple of months ago. Mostly soundproofing on the outside so that passerby's don't have their eardrums explode."

Jasper laughed, surprised at how inaudible it was against the music. "So, when's this friend of yours supposed to show up?"

"In a couple of minutes. She's just finding some parking now."

"Right." Jasper took her drink and skulled half of it down, making light conversation with Opal for the next few minutes before her mysterious friend arrived.

One look at the hulking figure broke any sort of mystery.

"Hey Opal," came the raspy voice of Sugi. She paused, looking briefly at her rival. "Jasper."

Jasper said nothing, but glared right at her. Sugi pulled out a seat and dropped right down on it.

Jasper's gaze moved to Opal, and she raised an eyebrow. Opal's expression changed from relaxed to stern unsettlingly fast.

"What's Sugi doing here?" Jasper asked, leaving no suspicion out of her voice.

Opal sighed. "The same reason you're here. To apologise."

"Bullshit," Jasper said, finishing off her drink. "I came here to spend time with you."

"Jasper, I know this is sudden, but this was Sugi's idea, not mine."

"It was kinda your idea," Sugi commented. "I just thought it was good."

Jasper's eyebrow continued to arch as she placed her drink. "Hang on, what...?"

"Oh for fuck's sake," Sugi groaned, "I'm trying to say I'm sorry."

Jasper was left speechless. "Sorry? For wh-"

"Punching the shit out of you." Sugi interrupted. "Being a bitch. Saying that one thing which really pissed you off."

Jasper paused. Then, she grinned, which turned to a chuckle, which became a full-on laugh. Opal and Sugi shared a confused, if not annoyed, glance with each other.

"The fuck are you laughing about?"

"Sorry, sorry," Jasper gasped, still giggling a little. "It's just that you, apologising? When did you get so soft?"

"Since I nearly got fired, dipshit."

That halted Jasper's laugh. "Come again?"

Sugi frowned, as she used a hand to push her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose. "Rose nearly fired me. Said I should have been more respectful and observant. Think she partially blames me for hurting her kid.

"It put a lot of shit in perspective," she continued. "I fucked up, and if things had been a little worse, I might have a hospitalised kid on my hands. It wasn't my fault that guy tripped him, but I should have focused more on the game than winning it."

Jasper was still reeling from the fact that Sugi was actually apologising genuinely. She had to place her glass on the table before she dropped it out of shock.

"Got to keep my job, but now I can't go to any sports event until Rose thinks I've learnt my lesson. She said the last thing she wants is to see the two of us fight again over something so pointless." Sugi took a brief pause to chug down half the beer she had brought. "The point is, I'm sorry I fucked up and got too carried away trying to be the best."

After a pause to let it all sink in, Opal broke the silence. "Now it's your turn, Jasper."

Jasper was quiet for a long time. She didn't know where to start, or even if she should or not. She felt like she should still be mad at Sugi, but with an apology like that, it was hard to.

"Well," Jasper started, apprehensive and slow. "I'm sorry for hitting you. And scratching you. And probably breaking your sunglasses." She paused again, looking down at her empty glass. "And for provoking you into fighting me. And, well, I guess me just being a shitty person in general and assuming you were trying to screw me over and let your team win at all costs."

Sugi leaned against her chair, drinking the rest of her beer. She was about to speak again, but Jasper continued.

"And while we're at it, I guess I'm sorry for being kind of a dick to you in general, even during the army. I guess I couldn't stand the sight of someone bigger and better than me, and I let it show. And I'm sorry for overreacting to that one comment, that whole thing is kind of a sore spot and I'm sure you didn't mean it."

"Er, well..." Sugi rubbed the back of her neck. "I... I kind of did. I know, I know, it was a real low blow, but hey, we were both pretty pissed off and not thinking straight. Or, well, at all."

Jasper sighed. She was hoping Sugi didn't mean it, but at least she was sorry about it. She could have been mad, but Peridot's rant came back to the forefront of her mind, sternly instructing her to be a good person.

So she did. "Yeah, we were. Hell, that whole thing was just a clusterfuck. Let's put it behind us, alright?"

Sugi smiled, and for once, it wasn't a smug, toothy grin. "Alright." Then she smirked, plenty of tooth showing. "You can be jealous of me in a much less annoying way."

"Dream on," Jasper laughed.

* * *

_Three weeks later,  
Two weeks before Christmas._

"...and then I went back to work the next week, got told off and had my pay docked for a week, and that was pretty much the end of that," Jasper concluded to Ruby, phone up to her ear and a cup of warm coffee in her free hand.

"Wow. Harsh, dude, but you sound like you got out okay." Ruby smirked (through a phone? Jasper could just tell she was grinning). "Oh, by the way, Sapphire's nudging me- ow, hey! -and wants me to tell you you're invited to our place for Christmas."

Jasper shrugged, once again chiding herself for doing so during a phone call. "I don't have any other plans. Who else is coming?"

"Uhh, hang on." The sound of rustling paper followed. "...Rose and her family, Peridot, Lahu- oh, right, Lapis; Pearl, Mal, Sugi - not sure if she'll be coming or not since she's said she might be busy - and Opal." Another pause and some whispering. "Oh yeah, you get a plus-one. Anyone you're thinking about bringing over?"

Jasper took a sip of her coffee, humming in thought. "Amy? I haven't seen her in a while, and she always likes spending Christmas with us."

"Hey, awesome. Let her know, alright?"

"Sure," Jasper replied. "Anything else I need to know?"

Another bout of whispers from the other end. "Sapphy'll email ya."

Jasper's eyebrow arched. "You mean the thing I never use?"

"...eh, I'll call you later."

"That'll work," Jasper said, taking a seat on her armchair. "I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Sure. See you at Christmas!"

Ruby ended the call, and Jasper slid her phone into her pocket. Time to go shopping for presents, she supposed.

"Hey, Peridot?!"

"I'm busy!" came a shrill reply from within her bedroom.

"Can I borrow your car? I'm gonna go shopping."

"Wait," said Lapis, drowsily, from the same location, "you can drive?"

* * *

Jasper remembered why she didn't usually drive. Especially during Christmas time.

It had taken her too long to find a parking spot, and even when she did, she had to squeeze herself through far too small a gap between cars. Not to mention she nearly got run over - at least five times - while getting in and out of the mall.

But, it had been absolutely worth it, and while she was down several hundred bucks, she had all the presents and her small contribution to the food and drink sorted out, and now she could go and relax.

Hiding the presents, however, would be a pain. There probably wouldn't be enough space to put them in her room, at least so they wouldn't be in view.

Once she dumped them into the boot of Peridot's car and she sat herself down in the driver's seat, she pulled her phone out, opened up Amy's number, and tapped the call button.

A few moments later, there was a click, and Amethyst's cheerful voice came through. "Yo, Jas!"

"Hey Amy. How's things?"

"Good," Amethyst replied, "just finishing up my last assignment now. What's up?"

"Well, you missed the exciting stuff, but at the moment, not much." Jasper got the car's heater up and running before she froze to death. "Hey, you gonna be able to make it to my place for Christmas?"

"You know it, dude! Hope you don't mind me crashing on your couch."

"Fine by me. I'm sure Peridot won't mind either."

Amethyst chuckled. "Soooo, whatcha get me for Christmas?"

Jasper let a short laugh out. "If you're lucky, a rock."

"Is it shiiiiny?"

"I'll call you back, gotta get home. I'll see you in a couple of weeks then?"

"Yeah, see ya dude," Amethyst said with a chuckle. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"So everything except work on assignments."

"Hey, screw you, geology's hard."

"Like your skull."

"Like your-"

Jasper hung up before Amethyst could have the satisfaction of finishing that joke.

* * *

_Christmas Day_

Jasper hadn't felt so relaxed in ages. Outside, it was gently snowing, as it tended to do during most Christmasses she'd had. Inside, it was nice, warm, and toasty, especially with the freshly-baked food and hot beverages. Steven looked perfectly healthy and was running around with Garnet and Amethyst. Everyone seemed happy; hell, even Sugi seemed to be far less obnoxious than usual, and had toned it down to simple bragging. That, she could tolerate.

The only person who didn't look like they were enjoying themselves was Peridot. She looked out of place in her Christmas-themed sweater, and was currently focused entirely on her phone. Not even the occasional interaction with Lapis did anything, and the latter had given up entirely on rousing her an hour ago.

Even during the feast, Peridot had piled a whole selection of food onto her plate and had taken to sitting down, while everyone else mingled, grabbed bites to eat and was usually around something. Jasper slid herself away from everyone else and sat next to Peridot.

"Hey, Peri. What are you doing?"

No response. Jasper frowned, then tapped Peridot on the shoulder. She looked up from her glasses, scowling ever-so-slightly.

"You okay, Peri?"

" _Peridot_. And for the record, I'm not. I don't like Christmas parties."

"You didn't have to come if you didn't want to," Jasper said, shrugging.

Peridot sighed. "I know, but it's hard to say no to Lapis. She's... insistent."

"Well, why don't you spend time with her?" Jasper asked.

Peridot was silent for perhaps too long. She then spoke. "Lapis is busy talking to everyone else, and I'd like some time to myself for a bit. I'm... just not in a good mood."

This was going nowhere. Patting Peridot on the shoulder, Jasper stood up and moved over to Lapis, who seemed to have just finished a conversation with Sapphire.

"How you finding the party?" Jasper asked. She wasn't going to just blatantly ask if there was something wrong with her and Peridot.

Lapis smiled warmly, taking a bite out the small sandwich she had in her hands. "It's great! Ruby and Sapphire know how to host a great Christmas party." She then looked over at Peridot. "I just wish Peridot was being a little more social..."

Jasper shrugged. "She doesn't seem like one for parties."

"She's been sour all week," Lapis conceded with a sigh. "She doesn't want to talk about it."

"Might be personal," Sapphire interjected from almost nowhere, her voice level and cold. "I wouldn't press the issue, it might make it worse."

Lapis sighed again, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I have a degree in psychology, but I don't know what's going on with her..."

Jasper's response was cut off by Ruby loudly announcing that it was time to open presents. Jasper couldn't help but grin - she had put a lot of thought into her gifts, and she hoped everyone liked them...

A circle had been formed, including a very reluctant Peridot. Presents were exchanged between everyone, since the likelihood of someone bringing more personal gifts to this was fairly low.

Jasper herself had gotten a few pretty simple things, which she didn't mind - some gift cards, a little bit of cash, and a brand-new coffee machine from Lapis. The old one she had was just about on its last legs, having been fixed a few times by Peridot already (mostly with an application of duct tape and wishful thinking). Now, it was Jasper's turn.

Sugi was given a new pair of sunglasses, and upon trying them on, they matched her nearly perfectly. Pearl, much to everyone's amusement, recieved a small plush bird; she wavered between thankfulness and annoyance, but she wasn't squawking so that helped. Steven got a new bicycle helmet; Garnet, a brand new pair of boxing gloves. Opal's gift was by far the most expensive; a necklace, with her namesake gem set into it. Opal already had one, but she made sure this one was different enough. Lapis was joking about getting a pair of inflatable arm-bands for swimming, but was genuinely surprised when she was given a statuette of a winged woman, hovering magestically.

Peridot's gift was the last. With a warm, encouraging smile, the parcel was pushed towards her. She took it in her hands, and with a distracted and disinterested expression, she opened it up.

Her eyes went wide.

"What is it?" asked Lapis, as she leaned over to look. Jasper smiled to herself.

"Is... is this...?" Peridot lifted the box up, eyeing it over. To the untrained eye, it looked like a simple model kit for some sort of sci-fi space-craft. "Oh my god, this is...!"

"You like it?"

Peridot finally smiled. "I love it!" She looked around briefly, then adopted a half-broken facade of mild interest. "It's... very nice."

"Eh, I saw it on the shelf, remembered that one shirt you have, and thought 'eh, why not'?"

Lapis giggled. "Wow, and here I thought my gift was impressive."

Peridot stuttered, then spoke. "I haven't... gotten your gift yet."

"I figured I'd save it for after the party."

"Lewd," whispered Amethyst, before she snickered.

"Well, still, merry Christmas, Peri. Glad you like it."

Peridot grinned, then slid the model kit off to the side, before she reached behind her and placed a number of small parcels in front of her. "I suppose it's my turn, then?"

"I guess so," Ruby commented with a shrug.

The parcels went around. Most were fairly simple and cheap, if not well-meaning gifts. Mostly gift-cards and small trinkets. The only ones which were different were Lapis' and Jasper's.

Lapis had received a small selection of paints and brushes. She seemed more surprised than anything. "Wow, how did you know-"

"You tend to use those colours a lot in your paintings, if the remnants on your palette are any indicator. I figured some more of those exact, or similar, colours wouldn't hurt."

"Heh, that's quite thoughtful of you, Peri. Thank you." She reached and gave Peridot a hug. Peridot seemed embarrassed by the display of affection, but she let it slide.

Then came Jasper's present. The parcel fit neatly into one hand, and pretty much looked like a bunch of newspaper taped together. With surprising difficulty, Jasper pulled the haphazard wrapping apart, and held its contents aloft.

It was a rock. Rough on one side, smooth on the other, coloured orange with red bands. She raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"

"Looks like chalcedony to me," Amethyst said, looking from a distance. "Maybe some sort of quartz?"

"It's jasper," Peridot commented. "I... I couldn't think of anything better and I was in a rush, I'm sorry. But I remember you expressing confusion when I mentioned that jasper was a gemstone..."

Jasper looked the stone over. One side, tough and abrasive. The other, smooth and gentle.

A grin wormed its way onto her face. "It's perfect."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a pretty drama-laden chapter, I'm glad to finish off with a more or less positive note. The next chapter's probably going to have a lot of drama, sudden happenstances, and other fun things that make fanfics exciting.
> 
> That, or I'll end up expositioning the everliving tar out of everything.
> 
> Maybe both?
> 
> Eh, I'll see what happens.
> 
> Not sure when the next chapter's going to be out. Might be out tomorrow, might be out some time in the next week or two, might be even longer. It all depends on how things go.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> At best, expect new chapters to come out every day or two. At worst, once or twice a week. I'm being one helluva productive person with this, unusual for me. These chapters do take me about four to six hours to write, though, in no small part thanks to their length.
> 
> Please, by all means, throw feedback my way when you can. I may not reply to any comments but you have my assurance I read every single one of them.
> 
> (Also, if I've _somehow_ managed to inspire you to draw fanart of this, please show me; you can find me on Tumblr as stormbadgerxiii - just tag my username, send me a link, submit it to me, whatever floats your goat.)


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